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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420075">The Tangled Dooms</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordStarKnight/pseuds/LordStarKnight'>LordStarKnight</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Disney Princesses, Doom (Video Games), Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Tangled (2010)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Blood and Gore, Epic Battles, Fear, Gen, Gun Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:01:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>79,744</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25420075</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordStarKnight/pseuds/LordStarKnight</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rapunzel was living her life locked in her tower, as usual, but her boredom ended in a frightening way when a giant in armor appeared in the middle of her living room. Terror seized the young girl, especially when hideous creatures seems interested in her so quiet world, but maybe it could change. For her and some other princesses.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>61</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/652828">Original draw</a> by IZRART.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello! I'm Lord StarKnight and thank you for reading my fanfiction ;-)<br/>Firstly, I don't own Tangled or Doom of course. And the idea of this Fic came thanks to a draw by Izra ( IZRART) that you can see as the Cover Image of this story.<br/>English is not my native language. So I apologize for the grammatical mistakes you may find.<br/>Have a nice time!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>The Tangled Dooms</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Chapter 1</strong>
  </span>
</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>
  <em>In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood. Burned by the embers of Armageddon, his soul blistered by the fires of Hell and tainted beyond ascension, he chose the path of perpetual torment. In his ravenous hatred he found no peace; and with boiling blood he scoured the Umbral Plains seeking vengeance against the dark lords who had wronged him. He wore the crown of the Night Sentinels, and those that tasted the bite of his sword named him... the Doom Slayer.</em>
</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>In the heart of a strange rock formation, a basin cut off from the rest of the world, a small river was flowing in the shadow of a white like the moon tower. A young woman with an innocent face and golden hairs was sitting at the window, her gaze directed towards a cave below. It was the only access to this place, and thus the only way out. She looked at this dark path, her eyes filled with a sad curiosity that would never be satisfied. While she squirmed one of her blonde stran, sighing, a little chameleon climbed on her pink dress to land on the windowsill. Its eyes indicated to the girl a certain concern about her. She tried to reassure him by giving him a sweet smile, although a little forced, and by stroking its head with the tips of her delicate fingers.</p><p>"You'd like to see what's out there, right?" Rapunzel asked. "You know it's dangerous, isn't it? I thought about asking Mother to take us somewhere for my next birthday, but I don't think it's a good idea. Eighteen years old or not, I'm not sure she would agree. "</p><p>The reptile suspected that she was not really talking to him, but rather to herself.</p><p>"And it's not so bad here, don't you think?"</p><p>As a mark of disagreement, the chameleon showed her a bored look and pulled out his tongue. The girl giggled at this and simply returned to her daydream. She didn't have much to do right now. Actually, she didn't have anything to do at all. Every morning, she woke up in her tower, read her books, cleaned, cooked, combed her hairs, knitted, and various other things. She had no reason to be unhappy, but she felt more and more like she was going around in circles. It seemed to her that her life was only an eternal cycle repeating itself again and again. The only thing changing was the length of her hair. They were hanging everywhere, from floor to ceiling like invading vines. The mind bored by this routine, she sighed a great blow, her eyes focused on the dark opening to the outside world.</p><p>"Can you imagine if someone came through it?" Rapunzel said. "And can you imagine if he tried to get into the tower? How would we react you think? "</p><p>A slight noise made got her attention, like a sizzle. Then a new one, more powerful, made her jump. It came from behind her. She turned around and found a group of blue lightning slamming in the middle of the room. A storm seemed to have formed in the middle of her home. The girl was leaning against the edge of her window, wide-eyed, just like Pascal who had hidden behind a shutter. Then there was a flash, so powerful that it blinded both residents. When Rapunzel managed to open her eyes again, they widened again. In the center of the room, an Herculean mass of metal was standing. A green and gray colossus whose gigantic shadow stretched to her. The thing was a human being in appearance, but looking at something so huge, the girl began to doubt it. Her breath stopped when the invader turned around to face her.</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>The landing was soft this time. Not that it really mattered, but it was unusual for the warrior. Since Hayden had swayed him across the dimensions with his Argent energy teleporter, he had traveled to all kinds of places: hell, of course, but also ice plains, worlds with rock formations floating in the void , deserts illuminated by a blood-red sun, giant tunnels filled with luminescent mushrooms... An infinity of worlds different in every aspect, except one. Each time, the Doom Slayer found demons swarming like insects. A vermin that had made him visits the same dimensions many times. There was not anyone of them on which he hadn't fought at least a hundred battles. Except for this time, he did not remember having ever seen such a scene. It looked like a very human dwelling, made in the old style and very colorful, with a lot of paintings. He had not seen a world inhabited by man since Mars. But actually, it did not matter. As always, only one thing mattered. His scanner started and detected signs of demonic energy a miles from here.</p><p>The warrior looked for an exit and eventually found one, and something else. Behind him, he found a window to the outside, but also a person. A little human with a pink dress and golden hair so long that it seemed both impossible and ridiculous. All this was new, but like the rest, it did not matter. He walked to the window near which the girl was trembling. Every step he took in her direction seemed to crush her a little more against the windowsill.</p><p>"Who are you ?!" she screamed, her eyes wide open like she was facing a nightmare.</p><p>He didn't slow down until he stands in front of the girl, the only thing between him and the outside. He raised one of his giant arms and pushed her gently from the back of his hand to the side. The child moved without resistance, too afraid to do anything. She ended up sticking to the wall while the steel warrior narrowly passed through the window to drop down.</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>Rapunzel could not believe her eyes. She had seen that colossus going through the window and falling without hesitation. The tower was forty feet high. If she had jumped, she would have finished up flattened and, most likely, dead. Yet this iron monster had landed without looking injured at all. And after that, he ran to the famous cavern to the outside world before disappearing into the darkness.</p><p>The teenager stayed with stupor for a time she could not tell. Her heart was pounding so fast. She absolutely had to talk to his mother. Except she was not there. she was gone looking for supplies and new clothes. She would not be back for several days. The last time she had so much to buy, she got back after a whole week. Rapunzel didn't know what to do. She then saw her friend Pascal leaving his hiding place and hurried to hug him.</p><p>"What was that?" Asked the young woman.</p><p>The poor little chameleon could only offer her a shrug, but understanding the distress she was in, he knew it wasn't much. Her friend seemed close to tears, but he could not do anything else for her. Both looked towards the cave in which the giant had disappeared and prayed to never see him again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p></p><div>
  <p>
    <b>
      <span class="u">The Tangled Dooms</span>
    </b>
  </p>
  <p>
    <b>
      <span class="u">Chapter 2</span>
    </b>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>The forest was usually the quietest place in the entire kingdom, but that was not the case today. Rumblings, explosions, and screams were resonating between the trees. There were no animals left in these places. The mere sight of the reddish, oozing mass that stood planted in the midst of the greenery had made them all flee. Long before disgusting beings appeared from the red glow that emanated from the throbbing bag of flesh. All seemed humanoid, but none could claim to belong to the human race. They were too big, misshapen or disgusting. They had too many teeth and claws; they were real creatures of nightmares.<br/><br/>The monsters who had imposed themselves to this emerald green nature were now, however, being massacred. The Doom Slayer had found its preys. He ended up strafing one of the prowlers spotted with the assault rifle before tearing his head off. A mancubus bombarded him with its lasers but the warrior jumped behind a tree. Each shot of this thing reduced a little more the trunk in crumbs but the warrior was not afraid. When the tree finally collapsed, the mancubus looked for its target, but it was already too late. The Doom Slayer had taken advantage of the foliage come closer and planted his chainsaw in the creature's belly. With a quick movement, he created an opening through which a torrent of guts flowed on the grass.<br/><br/>He was then struck by a pinky he had lost sight on for a second. His armor had taken the bulk of the damage, so it did not matter. He put his chainsaw in his quantum bag and pulled out his rocket launcher. A shot in the face and the Doom Slayer could get close enough to snatch one of its tusk and slit his throat with it. He switched from this weapon to the assault rifle and exploded the thorax of the last prowlers.<br/><br/>Calm returned. The gore nest had been destroyed, as were its mobs. The forest seemed to have been repainted in red and black. A few flames were dancing here and there. Guts and brains were floating in a puddle. Only the Doom Slayer and the smoking corpses of his enemies remained. He didn't have anything to do here anymore. He left from there, drops of blood beading from his hands, leaving the remains of the demons rotting under the sun.<br/><br/></p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p><br/>When Rapunzel had thought that her life in the tower was too quiet, she had not expected it to go from one extreme to the other. She was walking in circles, unable to get out of her mind the armored colossus that had appeared in the heart of her tower. Who was he? How did he appeared there? What did he want? She was shaking just by remembering him. Each step of the monster had shaken the floor of her house. He was so gigantic that Rapunzel had to lift her head to see his face, though she could not see it. His head was covered with some kind of helmet with a sort of glass in which she saw nothing but her own reflection, the image of a frightened little girl.<br/><br/>She hoped to see her mother again soon enough. Her mind was a hurricane and she wanted more than anything to bring some calm to it. She didn't know how to tell her this. Would she even believe her? This monster came out of nowhere before leaving as if nothing had happened. He had practically done as if she did not exist. She wasn't sure if it was reassuring or not. The only thing she was certain of was that she was scared. Very scared. Her mother might have not exaggerate after all when she told her about all the dangers outside.<br/><br/>His chameleon friend, standing on the windowsill, watched her walk in a circle for a long time. To play with her, he was pretty good at he thought, but in a case like that, he was not sure of what he could do. He was only a little reptile, barely bigger than one of Rapunzel's hand. What could he do to calm her fear? He had tried to make her smile, by making goofy things among other things, but without success. She was too haunted by the creature. Staring blank into space, she tripped on her own hair and felt to the ground. The young woman growled in frustration and shame. This kind of ridiculous accident had not happened to her for years. She finally got up with a sigh, her face marked by a new form of depression she never had before.<br/><br/>While she was putting some order in her very long hairs, Pascal cast a worried glance towards the cave in which the giant in armor had disappeared. As soon as his eyes fell on it, they widened. He called out Rapunzel with his squeaks and pointed to the outside with his paw. The young woman looked out and her eyes widened as well. Below, the source of all her anxiety had reappeared. The colossus was returning to the ivory tower with steps so heavy that Rapunzel could perceive their crushing noise from where she was.<br/><br/>As controlled by a primary reflex, the young woman threw herself on the ground to hide under the windowsill. Pascal landed on her shoulder and what he saw worried him a lot. Rapunzel had trouble settling down after the giant's arrival and now she had returned to her initial fright. She was shaking like a leaf, curled up on herself, her eyes wild as the footsteps were getting closer and closer. She tried to breathe to calm down before looking up at her friend.<br/><br/>"It's okay," she tried to convince herself by addressing Pascal. "We are at the top of the tower and there is no ladder or stairs. We are perfectly safe, isn't it? "<br/><br/>The chameleon gave her a smile, more out of compassion than conviction. The two friends noticed that the footsteps had stopped. A strange crackling followed. Then another. Unable to imagine what it could have been, they poked their heads out, looked down and froze in amazement. These sounds were those of the fingers of the colossus clinging to the bricks of the tower like in butter. The giant was climbing barefoot at an impossible speed. Like a mouse trapped, Rapunzel panicked, closed the shutters with a brutal snap and blocked them with a chair, plunging the room into a disturbing semi-darkness.<br/><br/>Without delay, Rapunzel seized her pan with both hands and stood against a wall near the window. Her reason knew she had not disappeared in the shadows, she didn't had this power. But she felt a little bit safer, armed and hidden. She tensed with fear as she heard the the colossus approaching. She heard the wood of the shutter growling. The colossus was pressing on it. The noise stopped. Rapunzel began to breathe freely. Then there was a crash as loud as the thunder and she saw her chair fly to the other end of the room.<br/><br/>The young woman was a statue. She seemed barely breathing. Her eyelids had stopped blinking and her hands were red from squeezing her pan. She heard an incredible mass laying its feet inside the house. The ground shook again with every step the colossus made. Rapunzel was terrified. She seemed to hear very faint sounds, as if something was falling on the floor. She was unable to move as the giant passed a few inches from her, covering her completely with her shadow. What did he want? Why did he come back? Did he want to hurt her? She could do something, right? She had to do something.<br/><br/></p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p><br/>The Doom Slayer had return to the starting point. He had accomplished his mission on this world. Now, he just had to go to start over again elsewhere. This was how things worked. Whenever he appeared somewhere, he simply had to go back to the exact place of his arrival, to channel some Argent energy and he was sent to another world. He even remembered that when he returned to a previously visited world, he arrived at the same place as the last time. His Arrival Points were therefore fixed places. It made things a little simpler. He could remember the peculiarities of these worlds to find the gore nests easily. Even if, as usual, it did not change anything for the warrior. Only the targets mattered. He arrives somewhere, looks for demons and kill them without wasting time. A perfectly oiled routine.<br/><br/>As he approached the center of the tower, which was obviously a point of arrival to this world, he heard a small metallic shock. He stopped there, curious. The interface of his Praetor armor indicated a blow to the back of the helmet. He had not noticed anything, his armor did not calculated any damage. The warrior turned, however, and saw the young woman in pink he had met before. She was helding a frying pan in both hands. Had she really attacked him with that? That was new, unexpected.<br/><br/>The Doom Slayer did not know if her eyes were frightened by the uselessness of her gesture, or if she was just shocked to have done it. Fear, however, seemed to take over. She stepped back, letting go of her improvised weapon and sticking to the wall. It was strange to be attacked by a girl in pink rather than by demons. He stopped thinking about it, however, and returned to the middle of the room. He avoided the huge locks of hair on his way. His scanner indicated a quantum fluctuation and he started the teleportation. His body covered with lightning before disappearing into a large flash of light.<br/><br/></p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p><br/>It took Rapunzel a moment to restore her eyesight. Frozen by fear, her eyes had taken the flash of the giant with full force. Everything was blurry for a while. When her vision returned to normal, she found no sign of the armored colossus. She could look absolutely everywhere around her, he was no longer there. He had left the same way he had appeared. She collapsed to the ground like a puppet whose threads were cut. She was finally able to breathe, but her mind was still in shock. She did not know if it was bravery or madness that had made her hit its head. What she was sure of, however, was that it didn't do anything. That was the scariest part of this situation. She had put all her strength into this attack and it was useless. She realized that if this giant had wanted to hurt her, she could not have done anything to resist. She would have been as helpless as a little rabbit in front of a wolf.<br/><br/>Pascal, who had hitherto hidden under her hair, placed a soft paw on her face to reassure her a little. The young woman seemed to come out of her stupor. The little reptile started squealing, pointing to something. She turned her gaze to what he was pointing at. She did not notice what it was until her eyes spotted some small red stains on the floor. She approached it on all fours, slowly. Was it paint? She did not remember using red paint lately. And even if she did, she was too careful to let that kind of dirty trace. A long series of scarlet dots formed a small path from the window to the center of the room, along the path the colossus had followed. It reminded her of something.<br/><br/>"What is this?" Rapunzel wondered.<br/><br/>She touched one of the red circles with her fingertip and observed the mark it formed on it. The consistency was curious. It reminded her of the times she was injured when cutting or sewing things.<br/><br/>"It's definitely not paint," she said. "It looks more like blood. Blood? BLOOD?!"<br/><br/>In shock, the young woman ran to the sink. She stumbled on her hair, but got up immediately. She took a damp cloth and rubbed her stained finger so hard it felt like she was tearing her skin. The pain didn't matter. She only wanted to remove this horrible scarlet trace of her skin, as if was burning her. When she managed to get rid of it, she turned her horrified look at the horrible trail on the floor of the room.<br/><br/>She had already stung or cut herself before. She had already seen a drop of blood. But there was more than one this time. What had the giant done to let as much on his way? Was it his own? Or worse, someone else's? She couldn't to imagine what such a quantity of blood could involved. Rapunzel was beginning to hyperventilate. She was having a panic attack. Pascal tried to tell her to calm down and breathe slowly. He managed to make her regain control of her breathing, but not calm her mind.<br/><br/>The young woman hugged her friend, tears running down her cheeks. Tears of fear, but also of relief. She was glad that this whole story was over. She hoped at least, with all her heart. She wanted so much that her mother was there.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">The Tangled Dooms</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Chapter 3</strong>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>--- x X x ---</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The tower has always been a quiet place for its resident. However, Rapunzel had always done her best to change that. She always imposed herself all kinds of activities to not live in the silence. However, for two days, calm was reigning. Not only did Rapunzel not want to do anything, but her eyes showed a terrible exhaustion. She had practically not slept since her meeting with the armored colossus. Under Pascal's worried look, the girl had spent the last few days going around in circles and lying on her bed, gazing at the ceiling, with her long golden hairs hanging everywhere.</p><p>She was usually quite hyperactive and was now plunged into a form of apathy she had never experienced. Never had her tower seemed so calm, so empty. Rapunzel felt emotions that she had for a long time tried to forget: loneliness, boredom, fear ... As if the arrival of this giant in the middle of her home had burst a bubble in which everything used to be safe and pure. She was trying to calm her tormented mind. She knew dozens of ways to spend her free time. But none of it seemed to make sense now. All these hours of reading, sewing, painting and singing only seemed like ways to forget. Even combing her hairs no longer interested her. The only thing she had managed to do since the giant disappeared was to remove the bloodstains from the ground.</p><p>A part of herself told her to not touch it, to prove to her mother the reality of her story when she would came back, but she just couldn't do it. The mere existence of these scarlet spots made her tremble with fear and made her nauseated. She had struggled to get close to it at first, trying to ignore them as much as possible, but she could no longer bear those disgusting marks. The girl had therefore cleaned each drop of blood until the slightest trace disappeared. She had to rub over and over until she ended exhausted, but even after that, she didn't feel comfortable. Whenever she looked where one of the spot was, she felt like she could saw it again, as if their red shadows wanted to haunt her.</p><p>Rapunzel was standing frozen like a lifeless body, under Pascal's compassionate gaze. Only the song of some birds outside the tower could be heard. Until a crackling sound reaches her ears. A sizzle that the girl recognized immediately. An explosion of blue light occurred in the main room. Without waiting, Rapunzel hid behind her bed, trembling with fear under a mountain of hair like a child's hiding place. Heavy footsteps echoed through the tower. So heavy that Rapunzel felt like they were pounding the ground right next to her. She remained frozen until the sounds stopped. After that, she finally got up, wrapped in her hair, to take a look behind the thin curtain that separated her bedroom from the main room. She saw no one except Pascal, who came first like the brave little chameleon he was. The latter nodded to her, confirming the absence of danger. Rapunzel hurried to the open window and quickly spotted the green metal monster. This one walked with confident steps towards the cavern to the outside world, and entered into darkness without slowing down.</p><p>Rapunzel was able to breathe again, but even Pascal's benevolent eyes could not calm the anger that was beginning to animate her. She didn't like this situation at all. This thing appeared in her house and was going in and out as he wanted without any explanation or consideration. She was scared of him. He had left blood on its path. Everything about him, from his gargantuan size to his unwavering silence, terrorized her. But she couldn't let him do as he wanted without reacting. She couldn't sit there shivering like a little chick forever. What if he decides to come back again after that? How long would it last? Rapunzel emerged from her golden cocoon and took a deep breath. She grasped her pan with a steady hand and turned a determined, though still intimidated, look at her friend.</p><p>"It can't continue like that forever," she said. "The next time he comes, we won't let him go without giving us answers."</p><p>The little reptile squeaked in surprise and pointed at himself with his tiny paws.</p><p>"Oh yeah, right ..." corrected Rapunzel. "I'll not let him go without giving us answers."</p><p>
  <strong>--- x X x ---</strong>
</p><p>Five possessed, two mancubus, four imps, two pinkies, two hell knights and a cacodemon. That's what the Doom Slayer had listed as targets. It was the second time he had fought in this wood, but it didn't matter. What mattered was that after this third rocket launched, there was still a hell knight, three imps, a pinkie and the cacodemon. The shotgun was running out of ammunition, and the knight and the pinkie were about to attack him. The warrior took his plasma rifle out of his quantum bag and shot at the pinkie without slowing it down. The Doom Slayer dodged the charge of the beast, without stopping to shoot, but was not fast enough to avoid the shock of the knight's attack. He had no more armor.</p><p>No problem. The plasma rifle was overheated. The warrior released a wave of plasma which, at this distance, destabilized his targets. Without waiting, he hit on the knight's head until it literally exploded, then tore off the tail of the pinkie to hit him with it. An imp threw a fireball at him, but he dodged it and switched to his Gauss Cannon. One shot was enough to pierce the demon and kill another one behind him. The Doom Slayer aimed at the cacodemon, floating above the battlefield like an old balloon. He did not shoot. The flying demon opened its mouth, ready to spit out a ball of energy. There, the warrior shooted. The attack destabilized the cacodemon. The Doom Slayer leaped, helped by his Jump-Boots, up to him and tore its eye out.</p><p>The demons' killer landed with a great shock, followed by the soft mass of the last creature. The forest fell back into silence. Only pools of blood and corpses remained which would soon rot and feed the scavengers. The Doom Slayer glanced at the carnage. He counted five possessed, two pinkies, two mancubus, two hell knights, a cacodemon and three imps.</p><p>
  <strong>--- x X x ---</strong>
</p><p>Rapunzel had no idea what she was going to do. She was seated, her stove in hand, staring at the window through which the iron giant would return. During the past hour, his chameleon friend had tried to change her mind, with his worried little eyes, but without success. She was determined to at least try to get the colossus to speak. Like a guard on duty, she jumped when she heard scratches on the stone, outside of the tower. Pascal went to hide at the top of a wardrobe while Rapunzel was ready to act. She held her improvised weapon with both firm hands, without taking her eyes off the window. As the scratching drew closer, her grip on the cookware became firmer and her eyes filled with cold determination. All of this disappeared in a second.</p><p>Rapunzel's bold expression melted like snow on a blaze. Her eyes widened, unable to believe what they were seeing. In the window frame, clinging to the wood with long piercing claws, stood a living nightmare. Although humanoid, it could in no way be considered a human being. The thing, skinny and muscular, had a blood-red skin and bony growths as sharp as knives which added to its frightening appearance. Its yellow, soulless, eyes and fangs made it look like a wild beast in a skinned carcass. The second the creature saw Rapunzel, it jumped inside the tower and uttered a hoarse, breathless scream filled with drool. The girl screamed in fear.</p><p>The monster run at her like a wild beast. Its gaping mouth was coming right at the girl. By a pure reflex which she did not understand well, Rapunzel hit her assailant in the head with her frying pan. The thing lost its momentum. It stood still for a second, as if unsure of what had just happened. One of its teeth had just fallen out. Then it turned to its prey and yelled at the girl even louder. The creature tried to scratch her, but the girl jumped aside, which made her trip over her golden hairs. She trailed on the ground as fast as possible to distance herself from the scarlet monster, until she had literally her back to the wall. The thing raised one of its skeletal hands and made a ball of fire appear on it, which shocked the girl even more.</p><p>The monster threw it at her with strength. Rapunzel avoided being burned only by a new reflex which made her place her pan between her face and the burning sphere. The impact was so strong, however, that her utensil was thrown away from her hands. The girl had nothing left to defend herself. She was trapped between a stone wall and a horror ready to tear off her heart. She screamed. The monster did the same, then threw himself at her. Its run was interrupted by an impact on its face, preceded by a high-pitched whistle. Rapunzel froze in turn. A powerful shock drew her gaze at the window to discover the giant in green armor, equipped with a small thick object in his right hand.</p><p>
  <strong>--- x X x ---</strong>
</p><p>The imp had fled into the woods. Nothing surprising for the Doom Slayer. Even demons sometimes showed some survival instinct. It didn't matter. His scanner could find their tracks. No demon ever escaped him. There was, however, a little difference this time: the girl he had met before. The demon had chose her as its prey. The Doom Slayer heard her yell from the bottom of the tower. He had escalated it a little faster than the last time and took out his pistol the second he arrived at the window.</p><p>A shot had caught the attention of the demon. The Doom Slayer fired again while walking towards its enemy. Again and again. Each blow destabilized the imp. Until the warrior was facing his target. Without waiting, he grabbed its throat and smashed its head so hard that it exploded. The last target was eliminated. The Doom Slayer dropped the inanimate body of the imp, like a puppet without strings or interests. His gaze spotted the girl in pink who lived in this tower. At first frozen like a statue, the face stained with a few droplets of blood, the girl with the long golden hair ended up moving her eyes towards the corpse, before vomiting. Three times.</p><p>After catching her breath, and coughing very hard to spit out what was left in her throat, the child stood still again, her gaze lost. She didn't seem to understand what had just happened or how to react to it. It didn't matter for the Doom Slayer. His mission was accomplished. Except that something was bothering him. This young girl was an unexpected detail. Each world he had set foot on, each place he had visited, all of them were empty or had seen its inhabitants massacred before his arrival. It was no surprise. The demons had no mercy. They only wanted to kill everything they could find. This time, however, the Doom Slayer had arrived before the carnage. There was a survivor. It was new.</p><p>He had to keep going. Pass through the access point of this world to go to the next. Only this time, it bothered him to leave someone alive at the mercy of demons. It was clear that the demons appears near the places where he himself arrived. And if they had come here twice, nothing would stop them from coming back later. What could he do? This was a situation he was not used to. He had to leave to continue his eternal mission. But he couldn't leave this helpless girl. His gaze then turned to the weapon in his right hand.</p><p>Rapunzel could not move or even breathe. Each breath would brought the smell of blood to her nostrils and made her feel sick again. Her mind seemed to have slow down. The giant had saved her. The giant had killed the monster. The giant had exploded its head like an overripe fruit. The nausea returned. The girl could not move. Suddenly something quick made her jump, then there was a shock against her chest. Her fingers intercepted what had hit her. It was an L-shaped metal object. She recognized it as what the iron giant had used. It was the weapon that thrown lights that hurted the monster. Confused, Rapunzel did not know what to do with that thing. She just looked up at the colossus. He had already turned his back on her and walked with heavy steps towards the center of the tower. Blue lightnings appeared. The warrior rose in the air. Once again, Rapunzel, her mind frozen, was blinded by a flash of light. When her eyes opened, the giant was gone again. Only this time he had left behind him a headless corpse and a disoriented child, with hair drenched in blood and an unknown weapon in her hands.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A cathedral-like silence was reigning within the hidden tower. On the table was placed an object from another world. An L-shaped creation made of a dark metal, decorated with bluish lights and strange symbols. If Rapunzel hadn't seen it in the giant's hand, she wouldn't even have known how to hold it. Anyway, she didn't dare to do it. She had no idea what it was or how it worked. There were two inscriptions on it. One said 2. She had no idea what that meant. The other simply said DANGER. Of that, she could attest. This strange object had cast lights on the face of the nightmarish creature that had almost hurt her. Its projectiles had destabilized the monster, perhaps even injured it. She was not sure anymore. The memory of this terrible moment was painful to her. She couldn't get back in without shivering. Everything was blurry, like in a dirty, frozen lake. She remembered the red creature, the fire, the bluish lights and, above all, the giant who grabbed the monster by the throat and exploded its little head like a jar of jam. The rest was just a mixture of awful smells and red.</p><p><br/>After the warrior left, Rapunzel could do nothing but run, tripping over her golden hair several times, until she took refuge in the closet. Once plunged into obscurity, she finally could again breath properly, before crying all the tears she had. Of the uncertain time spent in the furniture decorated with floral patterns, the girl only remembered a long series of scream. She had called her mother for help countless times, but never got an answer, only the echo of her voice and a bad taste in her throat. Exhausted from dread, fatigue and her emptied stomach, the girl felt asleep at one point or another.<br/>She couldn't remember how long she had been in the comforting arms of darkness. Hours? the whole night? Everything was mixed in a puddle of fear and tears. She only remembered the moment she came out of this cage out of time. She had heard a short, high-pitched sound. A familiar squeak that comforted her. She opened the closet door, which had closed over her long hair, and found her friend Pascal. His little eyes were overflowing with concern. The girl in the pink dress ended up taking him delicately in her hands and squeezed him against her heart, then her cheek. His paws caressed her attentively while her tears flowed one last time.<br/>After that, the memories were clearer, much to her dismay. She had to do an amazing effort to return in the central room, because she knew that there was laying a mass formerly moving and today flaccid, floating on a scarlet pond. When she saw it again, Rapunzel thought she would puke again. The only thing that kept her from dirtying the floor even more was that she had nothing left to spit out. Her stomach simply made her cough a big blow. Each step towards the carnage was an ordeal, to approach it was to accept its existence even more. She finally reached the headless body of the monster. Her heart beat faster as her mind counted the scattered bits of what had been his skull. She jumped in disgust when her bare feet walked in some blood. This corpse had to disappear.<br/>It was difficult but Rapunzel had no other choice. She overcame the disgust that was hammering her mind and carried the dead body to the window of the tower overlooking the river. The girl had great difficulty lifting the viscous and heavy mass there. But once it slipped outside, Rapunzel immediately felt better. When she heard the sound of the water splashing, she couldn't help but look through the window. She saw only a scarlet stain washed away by the current. Rapunzel finally felt able to breathe.<br/>She couldn't say if what came next was simpler or not. With rags and a large bucket of water, the girl had to mop up the blood. This task was even more disgusting as she picked up bits of bone and teeth. The warrior must have used a titanic force to reduce an entire skull to such small pieces. Despite her determination to get rid of the red and beige pool, Rapunzel did not manage to clean everything in one go. The stones of the ground had started to permeate it. She could remove that disgusting colors, but it required an effort that her arms had difficulty to provide. She had to take a break. In addition, she was starting to be hungry and thirsty. This did not surprise her in view of all that she had regurgitated. She couldn't imagine herself eating something and quietly drinking near such a carnage. But her stomach begged her to give it something.</p><p><br/>After a most frugal meal, Rapunzel spent an endless time cleaning the floor. She did not stop until all traces of vomit and blood disappeared. Again, she threw everything, including the bones, into the river. Then she had to clean her hair, after discovering with more exasperation than horror that some blood had stained it, since her golden hairs were literally everywhere. Once that was done, when she realized that she had finally made her environment livable again, she sat into her most comfy chair. She remember falling asleep again, exhausted by all this efforts and relieved to have brought her tower back to normal. When she awoke, confused by sleep and hope, she wondered if all this had been only a nightmare. To her great despair, and her greatest curiosity, the answer was negative. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an object reflecting some morning light. It was the famous object left by the giant.<br/>Rapunzel grabbed it with her fingertips. To her surprise, the object was no heavier than her frying pan. When some of its pieces began to move mechanically, she had reflexively dropped it on her table. When the object calmed down, Rapunzel dared not touch it. She had been watching this artifact for a while now, like a kitten in front of an incomprehensible novelty. Her mind swayed between looking at it more closely and throwing it into the river. Pascal did not know what to do either. He examined it in turn from all angles, including taking a look inside the cylinder which seemed to be the central part.<br/>In the end, Rapunzel decided to grab the object. She remembered how the incredible warrior held it and imitated him. She didn't know what to do after that. Her finger slipped into a ring and landed on a thin part. Without realizing it, she held the object with more strength, which caused a hiss and a sudden propulsion which almost made her let it go of her hands. Destabilized, Rapunzel looked in the opposite direction and discovered a black mark on a wall. She dropped the object again as if it had become red-hot.</p><p><br/>The girl approached the black spot and realized that what she had done had propelled one of the famous lights that the colossus had used to save her. She returned to the unknown weapon. To Pascal's amazement, Rapunzel took it back in his hands. She should have been afraid of it, but something else came to her mind. This thing had repelled the monster who wanted to harm her. And it was not really heavy or complicate to use. This object had saved her life and the giant warrior had left it to her. She remembered the face of her attacker, its mouth filled with sharp teeth, its hooked claws and the sphere of flame he had thrown at her face.<br/>As possessed by a sudden impulse coming out of nowhere, Rapunzel rushed to one of her cupboards. She took out of it a basket containing clay. After some preparation, she began to knead a large piece then gave it an oval shape. She then made two symmetrical recesses and an opening below. It was not as scary as the monster it was supposed to look like, but that was close enough for Rapunzel for what she intended to do with it. She placed her sculpture at the edge of her window. Between her and the outside world, there was only that hideous and grotesque head. Not knowing how to react to this scene, Pascal simply stood as a spectator, his eyes filled with concern.<br/>In front of this monstrosity of clay, a few feet away, Rapunzel raised her arm. She held it out as far as possible to point the artifact in the direction of the filthy head and pressed the mechanism. Her arm was propelled upward while a whistling and luminous projectile passed by the window, far from its target. The force that emanated from this object at each activation was as sudden as it was brutal. If she was not careful, she could break something unexpectedly, or even hurt Pascal. The idea give her goosebumps. She hesitated to try again, but a call from the bottom of her soul asked her to do it. She grabbed the object with both hands, slightly relaxed her arms to better control them. The object was in the middle of her gaze. She pointed again at the clay, except that the weapon seemed blurry to her. She closed one eye, the weapon became clear again. She took a deep breath, stretched her arms and pressed the mechanism. The projectile passed a few centimeters from the sculpture. Rapunzel had much better handled the recoil of the weapon. Without waiting, she moved her hands slightly and pressed again.</p><p><br/>It was good. The sculpture had partly exploded and the rest had been thrown into the void, like it was smashed by a powerful punch. Rapunzel's eyes widened. She seemed breathless. The girl remained frozen like a statue, realizing what she had just done. She looked at the object as if it was the first time she had seen it, but instead of looking intimidated, she now seemed fascinated. Then she threw herself on her clay basket and began to sculpt again, under Pascal's intrigued gaze. He had never seen Rapunzel like that. He didn't know if it was reassuring, but at least she had stopped crying. He hoped it was a good thing.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 5</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>Miss Gothel was tapping the table her finger. Her cider was taking too much time to come. Despite the years, coming to a civilized place remained particularly stressful. Between avoiding bringing attention and making sure she doesn't go to the same shops too often, even if it means visiting several different villages, restocking was always a complicated task. It was even more so this time because of a disturbing number of guards on patrol. She had no reason to be suspected of anything, all her actions had been discreet and perfectly calculated, but she preferred to be vigilant, like on permanent balance on a wire above the void. She really needed a small cup of cider to relax a bit before hitting the road again with her big package.</p><p>A group of guards installed in the inn after her arrival, too close in her opinion. This cider was taking too much time. The soldiers hadn't noticed her, as expected, she was just one form among dozens of others. Not moving was still the best thing to do to not get their attention. At least for now. The fellows were chatting loudly. Miss Gothel listened. Perhaps she could catch some useful information. Aside from personal anecdotes, and a few useless jokes, she caught nothing of interest. Her cup had finally arrived.</p><p>"Don't drink so much," asked a soldier grumpier than the others, "we have a long way to go and no one will carry you."</p><p>His companions were not happy to hear that. One of them asked him to relax.</p><p>"What are you afraid of? That we arrive a little late for dinner? The region has never been so calm. "</p><p>"Long live the king for that." said a third guard, accompanied by his colleagues.</p><p>Miss Gothel just finished to drink. She got up and took her big bag while the worried soldier interrupted his friends.</p><p>"What about these disappearances the others talked about? Is that rubbish you think?</p><p>"They exaggerate. A few hunters disappearing into the woods is nothing unusual. "</p><p>"And all the noises they heard?"</p><p>"Noises in a forest?" one of the guards joked about. "It's unprecedented, I admit."</p><p>"Not like these one. The villagers were talking about excruciating howls and the sound of lightning when there was not a single cloud in the sky. "</p><p>"Be serious, it doesn't make sense. They just got scared... "</p><p>Miss Gothel was no longer paying attention. She walked through the door and left the inn without slowing her pace. She already felt lighter when leaving the village. Then she left the road, out of sight, crossing the border between civilization and the dark woods.</p><p> </p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p> </p><p>In her ivory tower, Rapunzel was finishing singing for her chameleon friend whom she had wrapped in her literally as bright as the sun hairs. The whole room radiated in the warm glow of the girl's long strands, while her soft voice echoed against the walls.</p><p>
  <em>Heal what has been hurt,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Change the fates' design</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Save what has been lost,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Bring back what once was mine,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>What once was mine.</em>
</p><p>The light dimmed along with the echo of the song's last word. Rapunzel pulled out her reptilian friend from the golden cocoon. He turned one of his little paws carefully and seemed to relax when in the end he felt no pain. However, he turned an accusing glance at the girl with the magic hair. She laughed with embarrassment, followed by sincere apologies. She was mad at herself for having surprised him earlier.</p><p>"I should have seen that you were sleeping on the dresser before training." she admitted, pressing him against her cheek.</p><p>The poor chameleon was not used to being woken up in the early hours by high-pitched explosions and greenish flashes. This morning shock had made him fall from the furniture and cause an injury to his paw. The girl was then confused and apologizing to him. The magic of her golden hair had once again worked as she hoped. Despite this, Pascal continued to seemed bothered. He turned his gaze to the object that was making him worry: the strange metal weapon placed near Rapunzel. She put the chameleon on the ground before picking up the object, her eyes almost dreamy in front of her reflection in the metal.</p><p>Rapunzel has been using it for three days now. Almost all of her pottery clay had been used to produce targets for her shooting activity, which she cleaned all traces of after. it was important as she estimated that her mother would return soon. All of her usual activities, on the other hand, seemed to have been completely forgotten. Only mastering this unknown weapon seemed to matter now. Pascal was worried. He had watched the girl carefully during her exercises. Her gaze was fixed like the one of a bird of prey, her face devoid of the slightest emotion. When she was manipulating this object, nothing seemed to matter except the precision of her gesture and its alignment with her target. Even her curiosity, so naive and touching usually, seemed to transform upon contact with the artifact into a mind of cold and calculating experimentation. The young girl then tested various postures and gestures to find out how these would modified her precision or her grip on the weapon. But what worried the little reptile the most during these exercises was the fleeting smile that appeared at the corner of her lips each time she hit her target with one of her bright projectiles.</p><p>As the girl prepared to realign the barrel of the weapon with a clay monster head, an unexpected crack made her jump and scream. She turned to the source of the noise without finding anything. Until a blue lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the room. This time, Rapunzel knew what to expect. She closed her eyes and waited for a loud din to be heard before she opened them again. After that, she discovered the armored giant once again planted in the middle of her home, like a mountain of steel falling from the sky. To her own surprise, she felt less intimidated in front of him. The girl almost had the feeling of getting used to his presence. She didn't know what to think about this. However, helped by this new confidence, brought to her by the weight of the gun in her hand, she was certain that she would not let him go without doing anything this time.</p><p> </p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p> </p><p>The Doom Slayer immediately recognized this small room of white stone with variegated walls. He seemed to come here regularly. It didn't really matter. He advanced towards the window with a mechanical step. As out of nowhere, a voice interrupted his maneuver. The Doom Slayer turned his head towards its origin and noticed the girl in the pink dress who resided in this tower. Her golden hair, ridiculously long, still dragging on the ground like a huge sleeping and sluggish snake. Her eyes again reflected a deep fear, which was surrounding her from head to toe. She held in her clenched hand the pistol he had left to her during his last intervention.</p><p>More intimidated than she seemed to expect by the attention she had drawn to her, the child stammered. The Doom Slayer had no time to waste. He resumed walking. He walked three steps before being interrupted again. This time, the girl stood in front of him, as if to block the road. She stared at him and began to chirp a torrent of questions to which he did not really pay attention. He was rather distracted by the pistol. She was waving it in all directions at the same time as her hands, as if it was an extension of one of them. When she finished speaking, without receiving any answer, she noticed that she was pointing the barrel of the weapon nonchalantly towards the warrior. She hurried to hide it behind her back, looking embarrassed as if hiding a little childish mistake. The Doom Slayer drew her out of his way with the back of his hand. He walked to the window and stepped on the ledge, ready to fall.</p><p>"Are you going to answer me in the end?!"</p><p>The warrior turned his head again to the girl, but what he saw fixed his attention for a moment. The child with the pink dress was pointing at him the pistol. This was unexpected. By reflex, he calculated what level of danger she represented. Her posture was pretty good, but the weapon was not very powerful. His armor could stop a very large number of shots before scratching him. He watched the girl's wide eyes and got an answer. She was afraid. She didn't know what she was doing. She was unable to pull the trigger. There was no danger at all. The Doom Slayer just walked out the window.</p><p> </p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel caught her breath. She felt like she hadn't done it for the last few seconds. She did not understand what had taken her. She had pointed the weapon directly at someone else, while she was well aware of how dangerous a projectile could be. Her arms had lifted up on her own, as if her frustration had rebelled against her for a second. When she realized what she was doing, she did her best not to panic. She had begun to hope that this gesture would make the colossus consider her a little more seriously and bring her answers. But at no time did she felt able to press the button that would send one of those burning projectiles towards him.</p><p>He had an incredible armor and a giant build. But what if that wasn't enough to stop it? What if she hurted him? Or worse, if she had killed him? And if the green flame had passed the metal, then his skin, then his skull, then his brain and ended in the blinking of an eye all traces of life in this immense body, even before it collapsed on the ground? The more she realized the scope of her gesture, the more difficulty Rapunzel to breath. She dropped to the window sill and struggled to regain control of her breathing. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the warrior disappear into the darkness of the cave. After that, the girl saw the weapon in her hand and dropped it as if it had become red-hot.</p><p>Pascal came out of his hiding place to join her and land on her lap. Rapunzel wanted to hold him tight once more, but she was quickly interrupted. She jumped when she heard a blow powerful as lightning. There was not the slightest sign of a storm in the sky, however. A shrill scream echoed between the cliffs that surrounded his tower. The source was not far.</p><p> </p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p> </p><p>The Doom Slayer didn't need to walk far this time. Right after he had passed the ivy hiding the passage to the tower, he found a fresh gore nest. The blood was still dripping from the skulls composing it. Two imps were murmuring esoteric words in their infernal and incomprehensible language. The Doom Slayer pulled his shotgun out of his quantum bag, pointed in the right direction, and dropped an explosive shot. The noise of the projection barely gave the two demons time to turn their heads before being shattered. The warrior walked slowly but confidently toward the heap of energy-laden flesh bag. His hand prepared to tear out its heart, but the gesture interrupted itself.</p><p>He turned his head behind him for a moment. He was barely a few meters from the tower where the girl in pink lived. In general, there was nobody where the Doom Slayer arrived. The demons always appeared in places either naturally uninhabited or emptied by their own actions. This time, there was someone there when he would slaughtered the Gore Nest and unleashed an army from hell. He remembered that he had no other choice. If he didn't do as usual, the demons would flow from this portal like a deadly disease from a festering wound. The colossus plunged his hand into the mountain of flesh and tore out its yellow heart. A high-pitched scream gushed out and columns of red light surrounded it, announcing the arrival of the infernal troops.</p><p>The howls of the beasts were of no importance. He just analyzed the creatures around him. He noted the presence of a cacodemon, two mancubus, five imps, two hell knights, a revenant and a summoner. The level of danger was higher than the average. Without hesitation, the Doom Slayer launched a hologram. The attention of some demons was attracted by the replica of himself he produced, while the real one equipped with the Gauss Canon and fired at the cacodemon. Another shot and the target was destabilized. The fighter leaps towards him to tear his eye away in one quick gesture. During its fall, he grabbed his chainsaw and rushed towards one of the mancubus. Luckily, one of the hell knights stood between him and his goal. He cut off one of its leg and the head before returning to the mancubus. The creature didn't got time to shoot, the soldier's death machine had already opened its belly and scattered its entrails in the grass.</p><p>The Doom Slayer saw the revenant coming out of the corner of his eye, he managed to jump to avoid a salvo of missiles but not the blast of their explosion. His armor indicated a drop in his protection level. He took his assault rifle and hurried to strafe the flying skeleton. The monster could not act under the rain of bullets and quickly found himself flattened on the ground by the warrior who exploded his skull with a punch. He then quickly threw a grenade in the direction of the imps, three died in the explosion. A powerful shock threw the Doom Slayer into the air. His armor indicated a further drop in his protection level. The second hell knight had charged at him. The hologram was gone.</p><p>The soldier grabbed his super shotgun and fired without delay. Just a second to reload and fire a new burst of lead and he cracked the beast's neck. The interdimensional warrior spotted the last mancubus and attacked it with his rocket launcher to interrupt the laser salvo he had started to fire at him. Five missiles were enough to stun the creature. The Doom Slayer threw himself on his stomach and tore his heart out before making the creature swallow it. The ensuing explosion spread guts and blood all over the clearing.</p><p>The fighter pointed his weapon around him but spotted no one. It was impossible. He was missing two imps and a summoner. He heard the latter's scream and turned towards the direction of his target. His weapon pointed in the direction of the hidden passage towards the white tower.</p><p> </p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel instinctively picked up the pistol, and she was certain that the stormy din came from the cave leading out of her little universe. She remained crouching, to let only the top of her head in the window frame. She stared at the dark gaping, with a preventive curiosity. What could be happening there? She expected the worst. But even her worst nightmares hadn't prepared her for what she discovered.</p><p>A streak of crimson light shot out of the dark tunnel and spawned an abominable slim creature. Rapunzel's mind couldn't grasp if it was a human or an insect. She trembled with terror when she realized that it was neither. This thing was floating above the ground with two cape-like membranes, which was already in itself an agonizing impossibility. But what scared her the most was its misshapen head, devoid of eyes and lips, showing too human teeth. It looked like an iron arch had been attached to his skull with his own skin.</p><p>She didn't have time to feel sick because two blood-red creatures sprang from the darkness. She couldn't believe it, her eyes wide open. The latter two looked exactly like the one who had tried to kill her a few days earlier. So there were others. The flying monster began to howl and Rapunzel saw a circle of flame appearing before it. From this burning mark, a new form appeared. It was another one red creature covered with bone spines. A new one had joined the group. Another monster, practically human and grotesquely plodding, appeared after that. It was too much for Rapunzel. Not only were there several, but the monsters were also multiplying.</p><p>Rapunzel's eyes couldn't help but witness this dreadful sight. Her legs were shaking so much she couldn't get up, even though her gut screamed for her to run and hide. Her body was frozen. The three red monsters turned their yellow eyes to the tower. No, towards her. Two of the monsters ran towards the building and clung to the stone with their claws, initiating a very rapid escalation. And despite that, Rapunzel couldn't move. Her hands and legs refused to move. The monsters were approaching quickly.</p><p>A lightning symphony started. Impacts made the demons tremble and fall from the tower. All eyes turned to the origin of this assault. The steel giant came out of the tunnel with a new weapon unknown to the girl. He then pointed it at the flying creature and fired another round of bullets at it. The target creature disappeared in a new ray of red light. This did not destabilize the warrior. He redirected his weapon in the direction indicated by the scarlet blaze and pulled the trigger the millisecond the demon appeared in his viewfinder. The bullets disturbed the latter long enough for the colossus to jump on him and crush his head against the ground in a large spray of blood.</p><p>A fireball finished reducing the protection level of the Doom Slayer. He grabbed his shotgun and instinctively fired in the direction it seemed to be coming from. He hit an imp and continued firing until he could approach him and tear his jaw off. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a second one. He avoided his flaming sphere and finished it off with an explosive shot.</p><p>One was missing. He heard a very human scream and looked up. The last imp had climbed the tower and had just passed through the window. The warrior planted his fingers in the stone and did the same. Inside, he saw no one. He perceived then the girl in pink dress trembling behind a piece of furniture. She had run away as soon as she understood that the monster would arrive before he could act. Not very logical for him. The girl shouted, pointing at the ceiling. More specifically, the portion above his head. He lifted it and a red demon fell towards him, claws ready to slash him. It didn't matter. The warrior grabbed its skull with one hand, threw it against the window sill and threw him out with his foot. The monster's cry naturally subsided as it fell, then suddenly stopped.</p><p>The Doom Slayer then turned to the girl, who got out of her hiding place, the gun in her hand. He didn't understand why she hadn't used it. He and her heard a harsh groan outside. Returning to the window, the two saw one last monster. A humanoid with a hole in the skull, wandering with grotesque steps. The Doom Slayer almost forgot about him. The danger posed by these possessed was so small that he hardly calculated them any more. He turned to the girl and saw her clutching the pistol to her chest like a reassuring plush. He thought she would have used her weapon against the imp, but he remembered the frightened look she had when pointing the object at him. She definitely couldn't pull the trigger. It was a problem. This young girl had to be able to take the life of these things, otherwise she would die no matter the weapon in her hands.</p><p>"What are you waiting for?" she asked him.</p><p>The warrior understood what she was expecting, but another idea came to his mind. He saw the hook above the window as well as the girl's giant hair. He made the connection. The steel giant grabbed the golden hair with a firm hand under the owner's bewildered eyes and passed it through the hook before putting them in the hands of the child, who then dropped her gun. At first uncertain, she finally understood what he expected of her.</p><p>"Oh no no no no ... I'm not allowed to get out of this tower. For nothing in the world. And then why would you want me to go down when this thing is ... "</p><p>The warrior grabbed her shoulder and threw her out of the window. Her cry was even more piercing than the demon's one. The girl in pink tightened her grasp on her hair. The friction against her fingers burned her like hot iron, but she couldn't let go. She eventually slows down until stopping falling. Rapunzel breathed again, her heart pounding. She looked toward the window from where the colossus in armor was observing her.</p><p>"Are you crazy?!" she screamed.</p><p>Her anger stopped. She realized that the window was far away. Further than she had ever seen it. Then she noticed the sky, then the tower wall. None of this was in the place she used to see them. Then she looked down and saw the ground, barely a few inches below her. She forgot everything else. All her attention went to her leg, which she gently lowered. She ended up touching the grass that tickled the sole of her foot. She let go of her hair and stood on the green carpet, smiling. She wanted to laugh. She didn't have time.</p><p>The girl jumped when a terrible shock made the earth shake. The giant had joined her without wasting time. The monster's rattle awoke fear in her. She was again frozen in terror when she saw it plodding in their direction. She hadn't imagined her first moment outside like that. Rapunzel pressed against the giant's armor and asked him with a quick voice.</p><p>"Why did you bring me there? What are you waiting for to kill it? "</p><p>She could hardly believe that she said this last sentence. She clearly asked for him to end a life. No matter if she knew it was a nightmarish creature that would not hesitate to hurt her, Rapunzel could not admit that these words escaped from her own mouth. The giant pushed her away and slapped the gun in her hands. Her mind had difficulties admitting what this gesture involved. When she got there, she started to tremble.</p><p>"You want ME to..." She tried to pronounce, without managing to finish her sentence.</p><p>Rapunzel heard the groan of the hellish creature, much closer than before. She reflexively pointed the gun at it. The demon was approaching, one step at a time, toward it. The girl could no longer take her eyes off this form that was both so human and so monstrous. She stared at the giant in the hope of a reaction from him. He was just watching. The monster had move one step further. Rapunzel knew what she had to do to stop him. Her index finger refused to act. It looked like it was made of stone. She put more force in her hand, squeezing the handle of the gun until it hurts, but her finger still did nothing. She could see the ugly yellow color of the creature's teeth. They looked as sharp as blades. The golden haired girl turned to the warrior, banging against his breastplate with her little hands.</p><p>"I can't do that!" she implored. "I can't!"</p><p>The warrior remained silent. The thing cried out again. Rapunzel stared at it. She could see every muscle fiber in its skeletal face. Those on its face tensed as his jaw opened, revealing an organic abyss. A hissing sound is heard, accompanied by a greenish glow. The monster stopped as if it had been hit in the chest. Another hiss and he took a step back. Other hisses happened, the interval between each one reduced. The creature backed down a little more each time. It ended up tripping and falling back. A light flew up to his skull and exploded it. The hissing stopped.</p><p>Rapunzel looked at it, as if frozen on the spot, scarlet spots dotting her pale, innocent face. The monster was no longer moving. It was just a body. A headless body with a cascade of blood flowing like from an overturned bottle. And it was her who did this. This mass of flesh was alive and she had taken life away from it like she had cut a string. It was just one more body among the others sprawling on the grass. She wanted to throw up, but nothing came out. She was too busy accepting that it was her own will that had pulled the trigger, and ultimately blew up its brain.</p><p>She seemed to come back among the living when she heard the giant's heavy steps. He had turned back to the tower and was about to climb it. Rapunzel, panicking, interrupted him and yelled, as if she had lost control of her voice.</p><p>"Hey! You aren't leaving like that, right?! " The warrior casually turned to her. "I can't throw all these bodies in the river before my mother returns."</p><p>The giant remained impassive. The girl feared his departure. She already had trouble dealing with a corpse. This time, there were many more. She couldn't imagine the shock it would cause if her mother discovered her outside the tower manipulating bloody cadavers. She had no idea how she could explain this. The giant moved again, but in another direction. Rapunzel managed to breathe again when she saw him grabbing the flabby arm of one of the monsters. With a sudden and precise gesture, it was then thrown into the river. The girl did not dare to move, as if she was afraid of making him change his mind by interrupting him. But also because she was stunned. She had a lot of trouble with only one body. So she was amazed by the ease with which he was carrying all of them. It was like it required no efforts.</p><p>When the last monster's piece disappeared in the stream, swept away by the current, the giant returned to the tower. Rapunzel did nothing this time. She dared not disturb him. She watched the colossus go through the window and the blue light indicating his departure. It was only after that she finally felt like she could move again. There were tufts of bloodstained grasses everywhere. Rapunzel hurried to snatch them, finding bits of skull in the process, before throwing everything into the river. It looked like nothing had happened here. It was both disturbing and reassuring for Rapunzel. After that, she felt the full weight of the exhaustion that had accumulated on her shoulders after these events.</p><p>The girl in the pink dress and the bloodstained face used her hairs to climb up to her window. When she got home, with an empty gaze, Rapunzel dragged her feet to her chair. Pascal squeaked to get her attention, worried about her, but she didn't react. She just collapsed on the comfortable piece of furniture, closed her eyes and let herself be carried away by sleep, weapon in hand.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong> <span class="u">Chapter 6</span> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The young girl with long golden hair, lying on her armchair in a peaceful sleep, was almost a touching scene, except for the red traces that dotted her porcelain skin. Tiredness was evident on her eyelids as the strange steel accessory was dangling from her sleepy fingers. When suddenly, a voice like a thunderclap woke her up.</p><p>"Rapunzel!" she shouted in panic,"Please tell me you're here!"</p><p>For a few seconds, the girl’s sleeping mind didn’t understand what was going on. Then she realized that she knew that powerful and sharp voice. When she remembered the person to whom it was associated, Rapunzel sprang from her chair, eyes wide. She first felt the weight of the gun in her hand. Her eyes quickly scanned the room and stopped on a pot decorated with purple berries on a yellow background.</p><p>"Rapunzel?!"</p><p>She threw the instrument of death into the small vase before rushing to the window, but before she could say a single word, she saw out of the corner of her eye her reflection in a mirror. Her face was stained with blood. She had just enough time to be surprised, but not to feel nausea, before being called out again.</p><p>"I ... I'm coming mother!" she announced, running towards the sink.</p><p>Rapunzel doused herself with cold water and rubbed her face forcefully, not paying attention to the pain she was causing to herself. When she found herself presentable again, Pascal confirming with a nod, the girl ran once again to the window. She caught her feet in her golden hairs but immediately raised herself to hang them on the hook above the window and throw it outside. She didn't have time to breathe. She immediately felt that her hairs were being pulled and made her mother climb up with all her might. As soon as she arrived at the window she threw herself on Rapunzel to grab her face and observe her with a fearful look.</p><p>"Are you hurt?" she worried, "How do you feel? Did something happened? "</p><p>The girl in the pink dress didn’t know what to answer while her mother touched her arms in search of any kind of bruise. Her mind couldn't decide. Should she tell her everything? Faced with her anguished look, she only could stammer.</p><p>"I ... I'm not hurt. What's the matter? "</p><p>Mother Gothel embraced the girl again, even stronger.</p><p>"I discovered something horrible out there." she said with concern. Rapunzel began to stress. “There were horrible monsters right out of the cave, in the woods. Haven't you seen them? ”</p><p>Rapunzel, stretched like the string of a bow, only succeeds in shaking her head for a negative answer.</p><p>"They were all dead and ... in pieces." added Mother Gothel, her lips trembling. "It was awful. I had heard rumors that strange things were happening in the forest but I didn't think it was real. Are you sure you haven't seen or heard anything? ”</p><p>In pieces. These words brought back to Rapunzel the memories of these last days in all their details. Sharp fangs. Flames. Claws like knives. These soulless bodies that wanted nothing but to hurt her. The fear that froze her heart. The ripped flesh. The teared bones. The blood that could have been hers. The tears that had flowed and were raising in her eyes again. Rapunzel threw herself into her mother's arms.</p><p>"It was awful!" she cried, the words blocked in her throat. "These ... These screams ... I was so scared. I don’t even know what it was. There were so many. I could have d... I could have... "</p><p>Gothel hugged the girl, mumbling comforting words. She rocked her like she used to, when she was just a little baby.</p><p>"It's over, my dear." she murmured. "Mom is here and she will never let anything happen to you."</p><p>These words reassured the girl a bit. She had difficulty letting go of her mother. Her mind digested everything that her memory had imposed once again. The girl no longer knew what to do. Should she tell her the truth? The arrival of the steel giant? His deadly gift? The assault of these monsters on the tower? The more she thought about it, the less she wanted to. Her mother was so worried. She was already running to close the shutters of the tower and announcing that she was going to make a good warm dish and less leave her alone. She promised to find something to eat in the forest, as close as possible from their home. She couldn't bear this kind of revelation right away. Rapunzel positioned herself in front of the small pot containing her personal weapon, while Pascal remained hidden in the shadow of the cupboard. It was not the right time.</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>The day had been atrocious for Cassandra, wandering through the corridors of Corona’s castle. Not that her tasks were tiring, but they were not exciting at all. Like those of the previous day, and the one before. Being a handmaiden was not fascinating. She would have preferred to continue training with her weapons. However, the castle didn’t lack of tasks to provide. Which in itself was something incomprehensible to her, since no exciting things ever happened here. In this period of preparations for the Lantern’s Festival, she had even more work than usual and therefore less time for herself. Every second of daydream she could catch was then more intense and enticing. Her mind always went out in pursuit of bandits, pirates or even dragons, and sometimes imagined what existed beyond the horizon. For her, who had spent most of her life in the castle, the idea of getting out of town was already the promise of incredible adventures. A promise that only made returning to dirty sheets and dusting more painful. Now that the sun was about to set, she wanted nothing but to return to her dreams, hidden in the calm of her room.</p><p>Before that, however, she wanted to embrace her father. He too was busy with preparations for the festival. She envied him, for she believed that the day of a captain of the guard was far more interesting than that of a handmaiden. As she approached her desk, she heard voices badly hidden by the half-opened door of the room. One of them, whom she recognized immediately, addressed with force and authority to a younger and intimidated interlocutor. Cassandra, driven by curiosity, looked into the gap.</p><p>“For the last time,” commanded the captain, “I want the soldiers to stop spreading these nonsensical stories.”</p><p>“But sir,” replied a young officer hesitantly, “the reports are formal. People have indeed disappeared ... ”</p><p>“And we will investigate this soon.”</p><p>"And all these testimonies of strange noises in the woods?"</p><p>"Has any of our men reported hearing anything unusual? No? So until that happens, it’s still rumors told by frightened people.”</p><p>The officer stammered a little before clarifying.</p><p>“Sir, with all due respect, I can certainly ask men not to talk about it too much, but nothing will efficiently prevent them from doing it. And most importantly, we cannot prevent the villagers from doing so, especially the families of the victims. If we had more men to patrol maybe... "</p><p>"You know very well that we do NOT have more men. With those I mobilize to provide security during the festival, we have barely enough to watch over the castle. I am sorry for these poor people, and I promise you that we will take care of this, but there is nothing we can do before the end of the festivities...”</p><p>Cassandra started to lose attention from the discussion. She had never heard her father so annoyed. He was a good captain and always found a solution to any problems, as far as she could remember. This time, despite all his good intentions, he had no way of helping these poor missing persons. Then she felt an idea blossoming, one that brought her a smile which she almost felt guilty, while she ran quickly to her room. These people needed help, strange things were happening in the forest and her father had no way to deal with them right now, but maybe she could. Perhaps this was her chance to prove herself. If she could find out what had happened to these people, if she could save them, her father would be forced to recognize her talents and allow her to join the guard.</p><p>It didn't take Cassandra more than a few minutes to get to her room, take her secret things out of their hiding place, and equip them. She wiped out a bit of dust from her combat gear. Her blades glistened and hissed perfectly when she made them dance. She swiftly put on a cape which hid her face and hastened to reach the stables like a predator running towards its prey. Her horse barely had time to understand who had jumped on his back when she made him gallop at high speed through the city, until she came out of it and ran headlong into the shadow of the forest, while the night began to take it in its embrace.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7 (Bonus)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 7</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Bonus</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Somewhere on a peaceful world in an isolated galaxy.</em>
</p><p>Summer would soon end. Already, the days seemed shorter and the woods resounded with the whistles of cold wind. A very atypical group had choose to enjoy the season one last time by taking a long walk far from their city. The most enthusiastic about this walk was literally a snowman, barely taller than a child. When his friend had explained to him how it was everything were going to change to the winter, he had decided to say goodbye to as many flowers as possible. If the friend in question, a big beefy man with a square face, regretted his gesture, this was not the case for the red-haired girl who was holding his arm.</p><p>“Goodbye yellow flower.” continued the snowman. “Sleep well purple flower. See you soon white flower ... ”</p><p>"Please Anna, make him stop." begged the tall blond men.</p><p>"Oh come on Kristoff ... Don't be so grumpy." she replied. “It’s adorable. Isn’t it, Elsa?”</p><p>A young woman with beautiful platinum blonde hair laughs a little in response. She gently patted a reindeer who appreciated her gesture. Kristoff suspected that he could not expect support from the Queen of Arendelle. Certainly not against her own little sister. And Sven, though being his co-worker, seemed to have already chosen sides. So he had to endure this innocent but repetitive spectacle for some time. A very long time. When he had enough, he started looking around to find something to talk about that would make Olaf stop. Anything would be fine. By observing around him, he thought he recognized the hill in front of them. An old childhood memory came back to him and whispered an idea.</p><p>"You know," he tried, drawing the attention of the whole group, "one day one of my troll friend told me about this hill. He declared to have found something… prodigious there. ”</p><p>The two sisters were not fooled. They understood his true intention, but they were also curious to hear what he had to say.</p><p>"Really ?" asked the Queen of Arendelle. "And what exactly is it?"</p><p>"According to him, there is a cave there which leads to ... Oh you will say it’s stupid."</p><p>"Come on, tell us." insisted Princess Anna, her curiosity piqued.</p><p>“Well he said there’s a cave which leads to a real giant.”</p><p>"A giant ?" Olaf added. “A real one?”</p><p>"Absolutely. He said he was taller than the tallest tree he had ever seen and that he was trapped under stones, as if the hill had formed around him. "</p><p>"Come on Kristoff," laughed Elsa, "Giants don't exist. You know it."</p><p>The ice collector replied with a smirk.</p><p>"Just like trolls and magic powers?"</p><p>The red-haired princess had to hold back to not laugh, then declared.</p><p>"He got you there."</p><p>"Anna, if a giant really lived here we would know it, don't you think?" asked Elsa.</p><p>"There is only one way to be sure!" the snowman announced enthusiastically. “Show us this cave, Kristoff.”</p><p>The tall blond guy didn't need to be asked twice. He led the way cheerfully, already pleased with himself, under the amused and incredulous look of the two sisters. He himself did not believe this story, he even made fun of his troll friend at the time, but at least he could appreciate Olaf's silence.</p><p>After a short walk to the said hill, the group discovered the famous cave, hidden by climbing plants and moss nets, as if nature itself didn’t want it to be found. The secret and obscure entrance worried the queen, like the mouth of an ancient monster. Whereas, conversely, this mysterious passage attracted her little sister.</p><p>"What are we waiting for ?" she asked, leaping. “Let's go!”</p><p>Followed closely by Olaf, the princess jumped into the unknown, the rest of the group on her heels, leaving the forest to its usual calm. After several minutes of silence, lightnings appeared among the trees. A huge disk of energy, blue like a deep ocean, formed. A steel giant came out of it. The woods reflected in his helmet as he turned his head, until he looked at the cave.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p>Elsa grunted, hitting a root with her foot. The tunnel was huge and dark. Yet everyone could pretty much see where they were going. No one could quite figure out where this discreet lighting came from, as if the walls produced it by themself. As they walked, Anna kept thinking out loud. She wondered if this story was true, if there were other giants, what was he doing under a hill ... Kristoff whispered to Sven that he might not had such a good idea after all. The flow of questions did not end until the group arrived in a much larger and more luminous alcove. Each of them, the queen, the snowman, the princess, the reindeer or the collector, had wide eyes, amazed at what made them look up.</p><p>"You must be kidding me..." Kristoff let out. “Rockwell was telling the truth.”</p><p>Before them stood a real titan worthy of the most terrible sagas. A being as high as a mountain, trapped by rubble and engulfed in an armor on which reflected a few rays of light coming from rifts in the ceiling. All were captivated by this colossus whose helmet sported fabulous horns. This thing could easily have spanned the castle effortlessly. His overwhelming posture intimidated even the Queen of Arendelle herself and the ice collector. Anna, on the other hand, couldn't help but approach it, as if to make sure her eyes weren't playing a trick on her. The more she watched it, the more fascinated she was. Not only had she never seen anything so gigantic, but she couldn't see the man under the armor. Every inch of the giant seemed to be made of steel.</p><p>"That’s amazing." she asked, amazed like a child. “A real giant… as in the ancient legends.”</p><p>Her wonder was then interrupted by Olaf.</p><p>"Oh! I found another one."</p><p>Everyone turned suddenly to the snowman and widened their eyes for the second time. Their magical friend was right in front of a person with a heavy gait, more human in size but still colossal. A man with an incredible armor, as if he was coming from some unknown land. And it was also covering all of his body. Including his head, hidden by a helmet wearing a plate made of a strange glass that revealed nothing of his face.</p><p>Dumbfounded, no one except the stranger dared to react. The latter took a heavy step which Olaf had to avoid with a leap while Sven hurriedly walked away from him, scared to death. The stranger continued to advance straight ahead, without the slightest hesitation or a single glance at Kristoff or Elsa as he passed between them. All of them worried when they saw him approach Anna. The girl was right on his way. The colossus stopped in front of her, looking down on her like a huge rock plunging her into his shadow. The girl had her two amazed but intimidated eyes plunged into her own reflection on the colossus' helmet. Distraught, she gulped before daring to say something, stammering.</p><p>"Hello. My name is Anna. Nice to... meet you."</p><p>She received no response. Only the oppressive silence of the giant. He raised one of his big steel hands and grabbed her shoulder. Her sister and Kristoff were terrified, but Anna calmed them as he pushed her sideways without violence.</p><p>"I'm okay..." she reassured them. "I'm okay."</p><p>All the eyes of the group were fixed on the mute warrior who advanced towards the giant, always with an unstoppable gait. Without them being able to hear it, an artificial voice resounded in the stranger's helmet.</p><p>"There are a lot of pieces missing from this Atlan, but I should be able to use what is left to restore the advanced systems of the fortress of doom. Connect the beacon to an exhausted sentinel battery and I will be able to transfer it.”</p><p>The Doom Slayer froze right in front of the mechanical titan. Under the incredulous looks of the Princess of Arendelle and her friends, he raised his heavy arm to touch the giant, moving his hand in a slow and almost delicate gesture. Then, all of a sudden, the warrior lifted his leg to hit the giant with such strength that it startled everyone. The Slayer then grabbed a portion of a steel plate that had been torned and begun pulling. A deep sound resounded in the cave followed by a large metallic shock which impressed the spectators of this operation. The Slayer had revealed a strange set of wires and handles that intrigued them even more. He took out of his quantum bag a large black disc which he pressed violently against the machine and began to move backward.</p><p>“Beacon detected.” mechanically informed Vega. “Teleportation in three… two… one…”</p><p>Lightning bolts danced on the giant. It glowed almost white and in an empty din disappeared. Everyone who attended this surreal event was speechless. Where just seconds before was a monstrosity as high as a mountain, there was now only a dark crater and a wall that barely suggested that anything was there before. The Doom Slayer turned and started walking again, this time towards the tunnel. He passed through the group, completely mute as if none of them existed. The only one in the assembly who managed to formulate a sentence was the snowman.</p><p>"This is awesome magic!"</p><p>This sentence burst the princess's bubble of amazement.</p><p>“Wait!” she screamed, grabbing the giant's arm.</p><p>This gesture stopped the warrior, not because of its strength but the curiosity it awoke. The Slayer slowly turned his metal head towards the young redhead who was beginning to mumble an uncontrollable series of questions by waving her arms in all directions.</p><p>“Who… Who are you? What was this giant? And where did it go? How did you do that ...? ”</p><p>Worried by the steel man's impressive silence, Kristoff and Elsa stopped the princess by grabbing her shoulders with kindness but firmness, asking her to calm down.</p><p>"No !" she reacted by withdrawing their hands. "This man can't just appear like that, do some amazing stuff and HE KEEPS MOVING ON!"</p><p>The Slayer continued to walk as if nothing had happened, while Anna cursed him with an anger that her companions were not used to. It didn't matter. His mission was accomplished, he simply had to go out so that Vega would open a stable passage for him to the Fortress of Doom. As the flow of annoyed questions continued with an even higher volume, the Slayer perceived a sound he knew too well behind him, coming from the crater. An electronic voice transmitted an information he had already guess. He turned suddenly, making appear his shotgun in his hand, but barely had time to notice the worried looks of those present for he found himself inexplicably propelled against the wall of the cave. His arms and legs were blocked by a thick layer of ice. It was unexpected. At first surprised, Anna turned to her sister, incredulous.</p><p>"It was a reflex." admitted the queen. "Did you see what he did? Making something appear out of nowhere like that… ”</p><p>"You do this all the time." informed her sister.</p><p>The collector said that with Elsa, at least, they knew what it was. The Slayer would have clenched its fists if they weren't trapped in the ice. These annoyers had not heard the sound earlier because of the young redhead's loud voice. The Slayer made the frost creak, his look fixed on the crater behind the group, still busy chatting. Since Olaf understood nothing, he was simply observing the imprisoned colossus while spouting absurd explanations about magic and sisters who loves each other. As for Sven, who could not participate in the discussion, he simply followed the gaze of the colossus. The animal's eyes widened, filled with dread.</p><p>"So what do we do with him?" asked Anna. "We’ll not let him like the entire day, right?"</p><p>"I don't know." replied Kristoff. "If we could make him say a word it would already be... What’s wrong Sven?"</p><p>The collector did not understand why his furry friend was trembling like a leaf. The animal backed away slowly, as if unsure of whether to flee or whether he was dreaming. The queen, the princess and the collector turned to what his frightened eyes were fixing behind them. Theirs took the same shape when they discovered something with an ember look emerging from the darkness.</p><p>The thing was thin and blood red, skinless, covered with bony growths, and it jumped out of the crater with a shrill cry. The princess screamed in turn, her big sister made a quick gesture with her hand which spouted ice towards the monster. The latter dodged the frost with an agile leap and formed in his clawed hand a sphere of fire which it threw at them. Elsa produced a barrier of ice that barely stopped the projectile before launching a new wave of frost at the creature. She reached her goal this time. The creature found itself trapped in a block of ice from which only its head protruded, which did not prevented it from shouting like a beast. The queen's heart was beating at top speed.</p><p>"What is that thing ?!" shouted the collector.</p><p>Before anyone could answer him, a thunderclap resonated from behind them. They then discovered another of these creatures in the tunnel, closer to them. The new monster in turn launched a fireball. Elsa didn't have time to rebuild a wall. Kristoff pushed her and took the projectile in the chest like a cannonball. Projected on the ground, flames consumed his clothes. Anna ran to his side and tried to put out the fire while Elsa reformed ice to attack the creature.</p><p>She dodged the iced peak with a quick jump and clung to the wall with its sharp claws. The queen tried to catch it again with her magic but the creature avoided it each time like a hellish grasshopper. A new flash echoed. The group knew what it meant. Elsa turned to its origin, coming from the ceiling this time, and discovered a new creature even more impossible than the others. A flesh-colored bat with rusty blades instead of arms. The flying monster spit something she barely had time to dodge: A smoking yellow liquid with a pestilential odor. She made her wall of ice disappear to have more space. When Kristoff stopped burning, he grabbed Anna’s arm and dragged her towards the tunnel where Sven and Olaf were already waiting for them.</p><p>"Watch out!" screamed the princess.</p><p>She stopped the collector and saved him from a new fireball. Closely followed by the skeletal creature that landed right in front of them, cutting off access to the exit. Elsa was not looking in their direction. Her attention was fixed on the flying monster who dodged each of her icy formations. The red creature yelled at the princess and Kristoff, ready to attack and the claws dancing. Anna, grabbing the collector’s arm, would have given anything to have a blade at this time. A powerful crash resounded near them, bits of ice bounced at their feet. The creature barely had time to turn its head when a colossal hand grabbed its nape before throwing it to the ground like an old toy. The monster howled but was interrupted by a steel boot which exploded its skull, spreading brains and blood to the feet of the princess.</p><p>She raised her wide eyes from the disgusting corpse to the colossus, as if she was seeing him for the first time. The queen turned around and discovered the warrior perfectly calm and with a firm posture. This time, the warrior pulled out of his quantum bag the Heavy Assault Rifle which he pointed at the flying monstrosity. He pulled the trigger and poured a cartridge storm onto it. The thing, destabilized, fell suddenly and crashed to the ground. Without waiting, the Slayer ran towards him. Elsa narrowly avoided the warrior. Then the Slayer grabbed the monster by the throat with one hand, took his head in the other and pulled it out with a quick gesture. He then walked over to the creature trapped in a block of ice. It was still shouting, as if it was begging to be released. The colossus raised his fist and struck so hard that the head of the monster exploded, followed by the block in which it was trapped.</p><p>For a moment, a disturbing calm settled in the cave. It was short lived. Another thunderclap echoed in the crater. The darkness was briefly replaced by red. Then other rang out. A round and grotesque mass floated like a balloon out of the abyss. A cyclops with a green eye and a huge mouth. Two creatures with impressive muscles jumped out of the darkness. Facing this, the queen, the princess and the collector were frozen with terror. The Slayer replaced his Assault Rifle by the Shotgun.</p><p>The Slayer threw a grenade into the mouth of the cacodemon while the Hell Knights charged at him. The queen yelled at her friends to run. Her sister and Kristoff did what she asked, but they discovered that the tunnel was occupied by a nightmarish boar-like monster. The creature squeaked and started running towards them. Elsa quickly formed a wall of ice. The thing exploded it like thin glass and hit the trio head on. Kristoff had a headache when he hit the ground, the explosions and screams made his condition worse, but he stopped complaining when he saw Anna moaning while holding her ribs. His became concerned even more when she coughs and spit out some blood. The princess widened her eyes, amazed by this wet and painful novelty that trickled down her palm.</p><p>Elsa was shaken by this terrible shock. Her eyesight was blurred and her knees hurt. She heard her sister calling her. The tone of her voice indicated some danger. When everything became clearer again, she barely had time to realize that the huge creature was rushing at her again. The queen saw her whole life paraded before her eyes. A bang sounded and the creature stumbled, a spray of blood gushing from its face. Elsa's gaze spotted the colossus with one of his strange weapons pointed at the creature. Then he passed from one to another, a metallic blade that whirred like a furious wasp swarm. The warrior lowered his weapon and decapitated the creature with sadistic and painful slowness. The monster screamed one last time before Elsa's bewildered gaze, which then passed towards the fighter just before he was struck by another monster.</p><p>The warrior crushed on the wall so hard that a crack formed on rocks. Dust and stones rained from the ceiling. Sparks shot out of his arms as he pulled out a new weapon projecting spheres of bluish light. Each projectile was like a fist in the face of the monster that lost its balance and fell on its back. The warrior then jumped on his chest and ripped the top of his head off with both hands. Elsa realized that the round creature was no more than a deflated mass from which the eye was now separated.</p><p>There was still one creature. The warrior dodged one of its attack and tried to change his weapon. But sparks shot out again from the warrior's arms. These last were then agitated by spasms. His enemy quickly took advantage of this opportunity. The creature rose to crush  the fighter with his fists as he grabbed a new cylindrical and green weapon. The Slayer received the punches, which split the weapon in half and pinned him to the ground. He did not hesitate. He retrieved his super shotgun and shot the Hell Knight in the chest. His opponent backed away because of the impact. The Slayer fired again and the head exploded.</p><p>The corpse collapsed on the colossus, which pushed it without difficulty. The queen, the princess and the collector had a frozen mind, overwhelmed by everything that had just happened. Despite this, Kristoff had the presence of mind to help Anna getting up, while Elsa got back on her feet. The Slayer watched the sparks escaping from his biceps. He had fought with this armor for countless years, from the Umbral’s plains to the depth of hell. Even Sentinel high-technology had its limits. There would be a moment when it would become a burden. The Doom Slayer couldn't have one.</p><p>"Thanks to the Atlan, Vega informed him, I should be able to make you a Praetor armor even more resistant than the one you're wearing."</p><p>In the meantime, the warrior grasps the pieces of armor at his biceps with a powerful grip. The metal rumbled, then separated itself from the armor. The Slayer did the same with his other arm and threw the unnecessary pieces like trash. Anna raised an uncertain hand, as if trying to make a statement, but she stopped when new red lightnings appeared in a corner of the cave. A huge red disc appeared, shining like an eclipse of blood. From it came a monstrous warrior. His armor was reminiscent of the demon-killing colossus one, but it revealed in some places a pale skin with dark veins. His face, although partially hidden, had two eyes like hot coal and huge horns like the fangs of a gigantic evil snake. In his huge hand, he was holding a huge stick of metal carved to suggest a skull. The spectators of this arrival, with the exception of the Slayer, took a step back, frightened by this nightmarish being. When the disc of energy disappeared, the new adversary began to speak in a dark and ethereal voice, like a whisper coming from the abyss.</p><p>"You should have given up long ago." His staff made a red energy blade appear, giving it the shape of a huge double-edged axe. "The war you are waging has no possible end."</p><p>The Slayer clenched his fist, changed for his Assault Rifle, and fired a rain of bullets. The marauder displayed a red shield of light that stopped each of them. The demon replied with a great gesture from his axe which launched a powerful wave of energy. The Slayer dodged quickly. The attack violently struck the walls of the cave and even more rocks fell from it. One close to Elsa, who immediately understood what to do.</p><p>“We need to get out!” she ordered.</p><p>Sven, Olaf and Kristoff did as she said automatically. Elsa following them, all rushed into the tunnel. Anna was the only one to look back. She saw the two fighters throwing unknown projectiles. The first colossus approached the monster with his blue spheres before being brutally propelled back by the one the creature had attached to its belt. Elsa tried to secure their exit by freezing the ceiling, but with each new detonation, the tunnel trembled again and collapsed a little more. None slowed down before seeing the daylight.</p><p>When the group arrived outside, they all looked towards the cave, while the hill collapsed on itself before their eyes. The crash of the landslide lifted a huge cloud of earth and dust which stung their eyes and made them cough. When the particles dispersed, the queen finished rubbing her eyes and called her sister.</p><p>"I'm here!" she informed between two bout of coughing. "Is everyone okay?"</p><p>"I guess being alive is a good start." sighed Kristoff.</p><p>"This is what we call a hectic day." Olaf said with misplaced enthusiasm. “Isn’t it, Sven?</p><p>The reindeer collapsed to the ground without paying attention to the snowman. Anna tried to catch her breath, but she stopped when she noticed a muffled but powerful noise. They all jumped when a second sounded. A series of shocks like a rain of stone echoed from the hill. A noisy explosion of earth propelled something massive, as if thrown out of a giant egg. The group gathered, each with their own frightened look. Anna almost howled when the thing that had sprung from the hill, the pale monster, rose. However, the stupor took over when she discovered that it was missing a horn and that it was staggering. His left arm, to which his shield was attached shortly before, had reddish sparks.</p><p>The queen and the princess followed its gaze directed towards the new opening formed in the hill. A human form emerged from the cloud of dust, a gigantic weapon in hand. The Slayer threw his gatling, spewing smoke and sparks. It had overheated for the last time. He clenched his trembling fists and pounced on the marauder. He threw a punch. The monster's right arm was literally ripped off. He threw a second one. It was the left arm that was teared. The Doom Slayer prepared his last punch. He propelled it into the face of the marauder which exploded into a thousand pieces. The legs of the monsters bobbed for a few seconds, then collapsed like a dead tree.</p><p>Silence fell on the forest. Dead silence. The colossus was impassive, as if nothing special had happened. He turned his head towards the strange group that had witnessed his battle. All of them had a backward movement, with the exception of Anna, frozen in place, a bit like with the giant earlier. An electronic voice echoed through his helmet.</p><p>“I no longer detect any demonic presence. I open the portal. "</p><p>A new energy disc, this time blue, appeared behind the Slayer. The latter took his eyes off the inhabitants of this world and walked towards it.</p><p>“I think your entire arsenal deserves an update.” Vega announced mechanically.</p><p>"This lady's superhuman abilities have given me an idea that you may find interesting."</p><p>The Slayer went through the portal. The energy disk disappeared without a trace. Only the queen of Arendelle, the princess, the ice collector, the reindeer and the snowman remained. The silence lasted this time. Only the whistling of the wind was heard. Until Anna screams.</p><p>“WHAT THE HELL !!! What was this all this about? Who was this guy? And how did he do all this? And what were those awful monsters and ... and ... Oh! "</p><p>“Anna?” Kristoff worried when he saw her face going from panicking to a tense calmness.</p><p>"Are you alright ?" asked Elsa.</p><p>The princess answered her in a direct and monochord voice.</p><p>"Well now that the fear and the adrenaline are starting to go down, I think I'm going to ... I'm going to ..."</p><p>Anna's cheeks swelled. She turned around, lean quickly and, finally, throw up. Three times. Kristoff, despite the disgust, stood by her side to support her and whisper to her that it was perfectly normal. Sven preferred to stay away to not stain his fur. Although worried about her sister, Elsa saw her attention drawn to the battlefield. A morbid curiosity made her approach the corpse of the last creature. She looked at the strange symbol on his belt buckle, the weapon he was still wearing, hanging on its belt and finally the terrible metal bar carved like a skull that had turned into a red axe. She gently brought her hand to the artifact. When her fingers were a few millimeters from it, an electric shock stung her finger.</p><p>The queen moved away from the object, as if a survival reflex had just woken up in her. The collector called her to ask for going home. Anna clearly needed rest after all these emotions, and emptying her stomach. Elsa agreed quickly. She would deal with this later. Or maybe she would keep this event a secret and forget about it. She was not sure. The only certainty she had, when she heard a sticky noise and discovered its origin, was the need to howl.</p><p>“OLAF! Don't play with it! ”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Chapter 8</span>
</p><p>Mother Gothel had been home for a week. Rapunzel loved her mother with all her heart, even if she was sometimes harsh or too protective. She understood that she was simply trying to protect her from the outside world. The girl could not blame her after what she had seen during her absence. However, since she returned, and she had trouble thinking that without feeling a little guilty, her mother had become completely paranoid.</p><p>The tower’s shutters were permanently closed. She kept a sharp knife on her belt at all times. The slightest unexpected noise made her jump and take it, including those produced by her own daughter. In the end, she had forbidden her to do anything noisy, like music, dance or even do the dishes without paying attention. All this could cover the signs of a danger while she was on the lookout. Rapunzel even thought she had seen her in the middle of the night, watching from the shadow, while she thought she was asleep. She never thought that life in her tower could become even more burdensome. It was now suffocating.</p><p>It was Rapunzel’s birthday today, but there would be no party. She had tried to talk about it when she woke up, but her mother simply told her that now was not the right moment for such details. The young girl was heartbroken by this sharp face and those frozen eyes. She only got back to her room silently. Pascal did his best to make her smile again. A goofy face, a little drawing, but it was a waste of time. Rapunzel was only the shadow of herself. The lights would appear in the sky like every year, and she wasn't even sure she would see them this time.</p><p>The disappointment had made her lose appetite this morning, but her stomach didn’t like this unexpected diet. When it growled, the golden haired girl let herself go back to the living room. Her mother did not give her a look. Her eyes were fixed on the outside world, which she scanned from the barely opened shutters. When Rapunzel opened the cupboard, she found it partially empty. Aside from the condiments, there were almost no provisions left. With the two of them in this tower, it was expected for it to finish quickly. The girl warned her mother, half-surprised. She had brought more tools, dishes and clothes than food the last time. She seemed torn by a complicate decision to make. She didn't want to move from here, but she couldn't let themselves starve to death.</p><p>While preparing a large basket, she listed to Rapunzel an endless list of instructions, most of which she had known for years, others, more recent, which were more evidence of how frightened she was. Mother Gothel eventually came down from the tower using the long hair of Rapunzel. Her eyes frantically scanned the area. With her knife on her belt, she ran to the exit of their little secret world and disappeared in the darkness. For the first time in a week, the knot that Rapunzel had around her throat relaxed. She smiles at Pascal and offers to make the most of this moment. His enthusiastic squeaks made her laugh heartily. She just hoped nothing would happen to her mother. The monsters had not appeared for a while, just like the iron giant. She hoped it was a sign that everything was alright.</p><p>--- x X x ---</p><p>It was a complete disaster. Cassandra has been roaming the kingdom for an entire week and she had gathered nothing except rumors, false leads and frustration. She told herself that after a few days, she would have returned to the castle with the perpetrator of these disappearances, or at least clues about them. She could then have apologized to her father who would have been too proud of her to blame her for leaving the castle without notice. However, the young woman had found nothing, and the more she investigated, the less she felt able to go home empty-handed. She refused this humiliation.</p><p> </p><p>She had visited all the villages of the kingdom bordering the forest, including Old Corona. If she had confirmed that people had disappeared, Cassandra had learned nothing that could indicates any suspects. The missing persons were all banal and, according to their relatives, had no enemies. Which left her with fewer leads to follow. The only consolation of the young woman was that her interest seemed to reassure the people, who thus had the feeling of not being abandoned by their king.</p><p>As she cut through the walls of leaves on her way, the warrior prayed for this expedition to be successful. A desperate mother came after seeing her asking questions. Her daughter didn’t came back last night and she begged Cassandra to find her. Maybe she was just lost, but the warrior could not ignore the plight of this woman, who feared it was another one of these kidnapping. Her heart wrapped by her tears, she had promised to find her child.</p><p>She made some mud still wet splash under her boots and growled when one of her leather gloves clung to an old branch. Why did this part of the wood have to be the favorite playground of the missing little girl? Cassandra had no problem with wilderness, but the trees here were so close and the foliage so dense that advancing was in itself a struggle with mother nature, as if she wanted to prevent her from advancing. She thanked her combat outfit for protecting her, otherwise plants would have stung or whipped her skin more than once. The warrior froze when she heard Owl's call. She looked up to find him hovering over her.</p><p>“Did you found anything?” Cassandra asked hopefully.</p><p>The affirmative hoots of the bird of prey made her smile. She followed him through the vegetation as fast as she could, until she came to a bush on which was hung a piece of cloth. Owl then pointed to a small footprint in the mud, then another. Excited by her discovery, she launched herself like an arrow in the direction indicated by this track. The young woman crossed broken branches and crushed plants. Someone had definitely been here, and not only a little girl. Her heart was racing and a smile was on her face. Finally, after all her research, she had found something. Whoever were the bandits who had run after this child, she felt ready to make them taste her blade.</p><p>Cassandra came to an open space at the bottom of a cliff. The track led here. She was sure of it. She scanned the area like a wolf. There was nothing to suggest that the chase continued any further and there was no way to climb the cliff. The natural stone wall was perfectly smooth. Frustration grew in her mind as her gaze watched the area without finding anything. The warrior calmed down when she saw something suspicious: clear lines on the rock, as if something had been rubbed on it. These marks surrounded an opening in the rock. A narrow crack, but not that much for a child she thought.</p><p>The warrior put her blade back in the scabbard and approached the opening with a careful step. Once in front of it, she glanced into the opening. Inside, she discovered what she was looking for: a little girl, maybe six years old, with very curly brown hair. She was sleeping, curled up at the back of the rift and covered with dust. Cassandra tried to wake her up with a gentle call. The child woke up completely panicked. Her cheeks still bore traces of her tears and her large eyes were red. The warrior tried to calm her down with a peaceful voice and a smile that invited to trust her.</p><p>"Everything is fine." she said. "You have nothing to fear now. I'm here help you. ”</p><p>An adult could not enter into this opening. The little girl was too far away for Cassandra to touch her, so she held out a welcoming hand. The child refused it and pressed herself even more to the back of her cave, shaking her head.</p><p>"No ..." she whispered in a weak voice filled with fear. "They are still here."</p><p>Cassandra didn't understand right away, but she didn't have time to think anyway. She perceived a discreet as a shadow friction behind her. The warrior grabbed her sword. Metallic clicks resounded. With a saving reflex, she jumped to the side and drew her weapon. Her predatory eyes focused on her attacker, before gradually opening wide. The fury was replaced by terror. What she had in front of her was not a bandit. It wasn't even human.</p><p>This thing had two dark arms and a head, but what kind of creature could have such one like this. It looked like it was just an emptied skull on which someone had left the skin and planted goats' horns on it. Its fangs were as sharp as those of a wild beast. Its eyes were two red lanterns. And all this on a too humanoid torso with a yellowish skin. The worst part was its excruciating metal appendage, like a steel snake. Her mind refused its existence. It could only be the creation of a nightmare. From one of its skeletal arms rolled out a black as the night chain adorned with a horrible hook, glowing as if the metal was molten.</p><p>The creature swung its blade at Cassandra with a wide gesture. She released herself from her fright only thanks to a pure reflex of survival. Still panicked, her body and sword moved to stop the attack. The hook hissed too close to her face and the chain circled around Cassandra's weapon. Surprised by that, the new movement of the monster took out the sword from her hands, making it fly against a tree. Cassandra saw a second chain coming out of the monster's other arm and fly towards her. With one jump she dodged it and ended up flat on the ground. Her mind couldn't focus. The monster howled and red lights appeared in its hands.</p><p>The warrior's instinct eventually woke her up. An energy discharge rushed towards her. Cassandra drove again to avoid the lightning. Her wide eyes followed the path of this impossible attack and discovered that it had cut and partially burned a tree. First panicked, she then found her weapon and the young woman rushed towards it with the creature at the edge of her field of vision. The monster once again prepared one of its chains and throw it at its prey. The young woman stopped to move, the hook passed in front of her nose. The second steel rope hissed. Cassandra bowed her head and felt the chain click over her hair. She took advantage of being squatted to jump like a cat towards her blade. She landed in a roll, the sword in her hand.</p><p>The monster screamed again and prepared a new burst of light. Cassandra had a ball in her stomach, but she ran towards the monster. As it was about to launch his attack, she threw her knife at him. The blade touched its head and interrupted the accumulation of energy. Cassandra prepared to pierce the creature. The latter's eyes fell on her again. The knife had barely made a dent on his forehead. The warrior propelled her blade towards the monster’s face. Like the wind, its body withdrew from the blade’s path.</p><p>Cassandra barely had time to bring the monster back into her field of vision when one of its arm rushed towards her face. A shock, a piercing pain, and the warrior's body moved back on its own. Her hand went to her cheek and covered in red. She had trained her whole life, more than any other guard. She mastered each of the weapons in Corona’s arsenal. But she was not used to see her own blood shed. A second clawed paw rushed towards her.</p><p>The young woman only avoided him again thanks to an uncontrolled reflex that kept her away from the monster’s attack. Her blood was ice. Her fury corrected that by boiling it. Cassandra tried again to slice the creature, screaming in turn like a wild beast. Her assaults were less precise but fast. The thing avoided another attack but Cassandra continued without stopping. The next one injured its chest. The next one, its face. The monster dodged the third one with an agile movement which moved it away from the warrior.</p><p>The demon prepared his chains and made them fly towards her. Cassandra deftly dodged the first and stopped the second with her blade. The links wrapped around the weapon once again, but this time Owl attacked from the sky and scratched the creature's face to destabilize it. Cassandra took advantage of this moment to pull down with all her might. The steel rope tensed. Cassandra lifted her leg and slammed it on the chain like a blacksmith's hammer. The chain dragged the creature to the ground. The warrior redirected her blade like the hand of a watch, aimed as Owl withdrew towards the sky and plunged it into the eye of the infernal viper. The thing stirred so much in pain that Cassandra withdrew her bloody sword to not be carried away. The creature continued to gesticulate like a fish out of the water. It was the perfect moment. The young woman planted her feet in the ground. Her arms raised her blade. Then a mass punched her, propelling her to the ground and burning her arm.</p><p>Cassandra was drowning in a whirlwind of pain. She slapped her sleeve with panic gestures to put out the fire that was consuming her outfit. When she managed to extinguish it, her mind was again overcome by terror. Before her eyes stood, not a second, but three other monsters. Two were humanoids, although smaller than her, and had a blood red skin. The last was a real colossus with impressive muscles and a disproportionate forehead. The armored snake finished fidgeting and turned to the young woman. Cassandra became a cold stone statue under the yellow eyes of this nightmarish pack.</p><p>Her sword was as heavy as a mountain. She could no longer blink. She thought of a thousand different actions: to jump on one of the smallest, to run at full speed, to climb trees, to throw soil in the face of the snake ... None of her ideas had a chance of succeeding. One of the beasts made a ball of fire appear between its sharp claws.  The snake's last eye stared at her. The giant screamed. For the first time in her life, Cassandra felt the breath of death pass through her skin.</p><p>A small smoke ball leaped in the middle of the stage and cut off the tension. An explosion propelled everyone back with an incredible din. Cassandra hit a tree at full speed. Her back was pure pain and her ears were hissing. Her eyesight was blurry, but she shook her head and everything became clear again. A terrible crash resounded. She looked up and discovered a steel giant among the shaken monsters. The ground at his feet was fractured. Had he really fallen from the top of the cliff? No man could have survived such a fall.</p><p>The Doom Slayer grabbed the whiplash’s arm with a precise and powerful gesture at the elbow, pulled the bone out of his arm and pushed it into the beast’s skull. The other demons regained their senses. The Slayer threw flames at them as he grabbed his super shotgun. With a well-placed shot, he exploded the two imps at the same time. A dash back to avoid being hit by the Hell Knight and the Slayer continued with a blood punch that disturbed his opponent, then another punch in the face. Then a huge blade spread out of his arm and, like a farmer mowing wheat, the Slayer beheaded the creature.</p><p>The blade retracted and the warrior scanned the area calmly. There was no more demon here. He noticed the young black haired woman who was staring at him with her eyes as big as plates, a sword in her hand. She had a cut on her cheek and her blade still bore the whiplash eyeball, like on a skewer. She had done better than a lot of others. It didn't matter. Vega was telling him that other demons were further away.</p><p>The iron giant, in front of the haunted eyes of the survivor, plunged into the woods, in no way slowed down by the greenery. The branches in its path broke like twigs without seeming to bother him. Unable to react, Cassandra remained frozen watching the monster killer move away, until he disappeared among the trees. Her thoughts were a bag of weaving knots. Everything had happened so quickly. She didn’t understand what she was facing and trembled whenever a certain idea came close to her mind: she had almost died. She had done her best against a beast out of the worst horror stories possible and that was not enough. She almost died. And this metal colossus came out of nowhere and defeated all these monsters like it was nothing. Each of his incredibly brutal gestures had a surgical precision. And what about these overpowered weapons he had used? Was it magic? How else could anyone explain the flames that seemed to come from his shoulder or the stick of iron and wood that had spat a lightning and reduced to pieces two monsters at once? She had sweated blood and tears shivering in fear against only one of them. He had exterminate them without making the slightest effort. She heard a noise that made her jump. She calmed down when she discovered the little girl who timidly pulled her head out of her cave.</p><p>"He... killed them all?" she asked, as if afraid of the answer, whatever it was.</p><p>Cassandra mechanically scanned the battlefield. The corpses of the creatures spilled rivers of blood. Pieces of skulls dotted the ground like a puzzle. The squishy members of the monsters were everywhere. It was not a fight that had taken place here, but a butchery. There was only death around her. Her cheek stung her. She remembered her injury, but also that she was still alive, just like the little girl. The giant's heavy steps had finished echoing between the trees. Everything was calm again, as if none of this had happened at all. There was no one left here except the warrior and the child. Cassandra nodded. The child rushed towards her and hugged her with her little arms, as if she were going to fall from a cliff. Her eyes shed tears again and her exhausted voice gasped.</p><p>"I want to go home ... I want my mom."</p><p>The warrior seemed to fall back to earth. She had come here to find this little girl who was begging her for help. She hadn't been able to defeat these monsters, but she could at least do that. She could get up, hold her hand and take her back to her mother, as she had promised. The young woman looked down at her blade. There was still the eye of the snake planted at the end. She pulled it out with her fingertips, restraining her nausea, and put her blade back in the scabbard. Cassandra took the trembling child in her arms, hugged her tightly and got up. She wondered who that giant was and where he was now. All she knew was that she had to tell everything that happened to her father as soon as possible.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 9</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>“RIDEEEER !!!!” screamed a thief.</p><p>The target of this exclamation put back his stachel and sped like a hare through the wood. He leaped between the trees with dexterity but perceived the sound of the guard horses much closer than he hoped. Flynn's heart was pounding fast. He sprinted along the road and perceived the authoritarian voice of a guard, as well as the imperious whinny of a horse. The thief was not surprised by the attention he had drawn, but he would have done well without it. He heard mechanical rattling and slipped quickly under a huge root on which crossbow bolts stuck themselves.</p><p>Flynn was losing ground. His boots slipped on the ground and other projectiles passed far too close from his face. He saw a tree with sprawling branches, a perfect barrier. He accelerated a good blow then plunged between the meshes of the wooden net. He perceived behind him, with joy, the complaints of the animals blocked by the obstacle. He could put some distance between him and them, but a crash made him look anxiously behind him to discover that a white horse had managed to pass with his rider. Flynn spotted a creeper and an idea occurred to him. He grabbed it and it threw him around the tree. His trajectory was perfect. The guard was on his way.</p><p>The thief hit him like a meteor and unseated him. The fugitive succeeded in landing on the back of the steed. Euphoria flowed through his veins. Freedom and fortune was before him and he laughed at the face of authority. His momentum stopped. The white horse had dig his heels in and gave him a look as hostile as it was unexpected. The thief had no time to waste with a recalcitrant beast. He ordered it to resume running, but his only answer was a surprised look at his satchel. The animal tried to catch it with its teeth. Flynn only prevented it through a reflex. The horse insisted with energy and the duo started a surreal fight for the possession of the said bag. None wanted to abandon, despite the thief's insistence and the beast's kicking. Each one had a piece of the leather bag in his hand. As one of them seemed ready to let go, a terrible howl resonated. The scene froze, the two wrestlers seemed stuck, eyes wide.</p><p>“Was that you?” asked Flynn.</p><p>A beastly, whirring rattle echoed behind them. Their eyes turned in perfect synchronization towards the source. In the shade of a tree, a lipless giant with yellow eyes stared at them like a hungry wolf. His claws dripped with blood. Neither Maximus’s military training, nor the  Flynn Rider’s years of adventures could have prepared their bodies from becoming ice. The monster roars. Its prey screamed. The horse backed away in terror. The thief stuttered, unable to formulate the dozens of questions that crossed his mind. The beast approached them with a rapid and overwhelming step. Maximus couldn't take his eyes off him. He was usually brave. He didn’t understand what was happening to him. It was as if a part of him, primary and instinctive, was screaming at him to run away. It was at the last moment that he realized that his hind legs were on the brink of an abyss.</p><p>Flynn yelled again when he discovered the precipice behind them. However, the hellish creature continued its approach. With dexterity muddled by terror, Maximus stepped back, balancing on a tree planted in the cliff. The animal continued his acrobatic walk until the trembling plant left no room for his hooves. Flynn couldn't take his eyes off the monster, who waved his thick, red hands to try to reach them. He couldn't do it and screamed in frustration. Flynn glanced down, he regretted this, for he saw only the void.</p><p>“I don’t want to bother you, said the thief with a trembling voice, but what do we do now?”</p><p>The answer came from the plant itself in the form of a clear crackle. Without waiting any longer, the tree dropped from the stone wall, carrying the horse and the fugitive with it. The two screamed as the wind whipped their faces and their death seemed more and more certain. Their salvation came from a rocky peak that broke the tree, slowing down the fall. Maximus ended his fall with a painful friction on moss and grass. He shook his head to regain consciousness but lost control again when he heard the monster with sharp claws at the top of the cliff. Now driven by his survival instinct, the horse rose suddenly to rush between the trees, to be as far as possible from this thing.</p><p>Flynn wanted to do the same, but he tripped when his hands did not meet the stone wall he expected to touch. He discovered himself inside a small cave hidden by ivy plants. At first disorientated, he was brought back to reality by a great crash outside the cave. Instinctively, he jumped behind a rock and made himself as discreet as a mouse. He dared not move an inch when he perceived the groan of the despicable creature. Fortunately, it was short lived. He heard the huge steps of the monster walking away through the woods. When he thought it was far enough, Flynn rushed further into his hiding place and discovered, to his amazement, a tower surrounded by cliffs. No matter how strange its existence was, it was perfect for him. He climbed it at full speed, occasionally glancing anxiously at the entrance to this secret place. Flynn managed to reach and pass the large window which was the entry to the small fortress. He threw himself in, out of breath, like in the arms of a mother. Once inside this unlikely domain, he breathed deeply.</p><p>“Safe at last…” he whispered, before getting a quick flow of pain and falling into darkness.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p>The thief jumped out when he felt a squishy wet thing slapping his ear. His panicked gaze, lost in time and space, explored the dark room but spotted nothing. He found himself sitting on a chair, then tied to it with a rope. Except that he realized it was not a rope. It was hundreds of golden threads. Their sharp caress on his tied arms made him realize, as incredible as it may be, that it was hair. His gaze followed that gigantic golden snake to the ceiling.</p><p>“Struggling is pointless.” announced a strict feminine voice from the shadow.</p><p>Its origin, under the surprised gaze of the prisoner, descended from the beams of the ceiling like a bird in the night.</p><p>"I’m not sure why you are here, but I‘m not afraid of you." she declared.</p><p>Flynn was completely lost. His confusion grew even more when a dark metallic object came out of the darkness held at arm's length by a delicate hand with a porcelain skin. Then followed by the appearance of a girl with a pink dress and an innocent face. The golden hairs were her own. The thief couldn't stabilize his mind. In addition to this new curiosity, this woman was a mixture of confusing contradictions. Her soft face was marked by a severe expression. The object in her hand, whatever it was, seemed too raw and aggressive for her candid appearance. It looked like an half carved stone in the hands of a child. Flynn had no idea what the lady in pink wanted to do with it, but he suspected it wasn’t good. He also noticed that she had a frying pan in her other hand and that a small reptile finished climbing on her shoulder.</p><p>“Who are you?” she asked with her cold voice. “And how did you find me?”</p><p>At this moment, Flynn was speechless. The girl's green eyes froze his blood. It was like seeing an angel who modestly masked its anger under a mask of dignity. Staying silent, the golden haired lady repeated her questions and brought her curious artifact close to his face. The thief cleared his throat and tried to regain his detached attitude to hide his concern.</p><p>“Well… My name is Flynn Rider. And first of all, if I can give you an advice, this kind of scene works best when the interviewee knows what he is being threatened with. ”</p><p>In response, the girl redirected her arm like the hand of a clock and a ball of green light exploded some pottery. The thief's wide eyes were now fixed on the clay pieces. He didn't understand all the steps of what had happened, but he didn't need it. His mind had understand the essentials: She points at something with that, she destroys it.</p><p>“What the hell?!” screamed Flynn, shaking the chair. “What is this? How did you…?”</p><p>The intruder closed his mouth and turned into a statue when the lady pointed the magic weapon at him again. He wondered in what kind of witch's den he was. His gaze quickly got from the small object, barely a few centimeters from his head, to the icy gaze of the girl. The cylinder of the artifact was the black gaping mouth of a dragon. He felt like his life could ended here, in the middle of nowhere, without him even realizing it if he blinked. Rapunzel saw the look on the intruder's face. It was then her who was surprised. She had never seen those eyes before, except in her own reflection. They were begging her without words to have mercy upon them. The girl's mask cracked. A flash of lightning crossed her mind and lit her actions in a new light. Her arm dropped, then her feet hurried her back into the shadows.</p><p>Rapunzel froze in front of her mirror. She saw herself with the iron giant’s weapon and her frying pan in hands. Her breathing was fast and her heart, beating like a drum, as if she had just risen to the surface of an ocean in which she had almost drowned. Her chameleon friend squeaked to get her attention. Rapunzel discovered his gaze filled with sad concern. With what she could see in the mirror, she understood why. Her eyes imitated his and she whispered with panic.</p><p>“What am I doing Pascal? I was scared when he came in but ... "</p><p>She glanced at her prisoner. He wasn’t more relaxed than before and couldn’t took his eyes off her.</p><p>"Look at him. “She whispered. "He looks even more terrorized than I do. Does he think I'm going to... "</p><p>She couldn’t finish her sentence. Pascal turned his head to the terrible object which she was clasping in her fragile fingers. When the stranger entered the tower, she knocked him out and immediately grabbed the strange weapon. With this in her hands, she felt stronger. The fear had subsided. However, she didn’t understand what happened to her. He was an intruder, but not one of those nightmarish creatures. Rapunzel placed the artifact on a piece of furniture quickly, like it had burned her skin. Pascal gave her a smile which comforted her in her gesture. She grabbed her frying pan with two hands, took a deep breath and returned to the prisoner.</p><p>"Mister Rider," she said in a still firm but softer voice, "I just want to know what you do in my home."</p><p>The thief's throat was less tight now that the girl had left the deadly thing aside. He took some time to regain normal breathing before responding cautiously.</p><p>“Listen, miss…”</p><p>“Rapunzel.”</p><p>“Right. I was in a situation and I simply needed a safe place. There was this awful monster...”</p><p>“Monster?” interrupted the girl in pink, astonished.</p><p>“Yeah, a gigantic thing, with fangs, claws and a scream that could turn anyone’s blood to ice. I know it's kinda unbelievable but I'm telling the truth. I’ve been through these woods a lot of times and I’ve never seen anything like this. I ran to escape him and I came across your tower by chance. I swear."</p><p>Flynn then discovered that the lady in pink was also trembling. The little reptile on her shoulder did the same and tried to camouflage himself on the fabric of her dress. Rapunzel whispered to herself, like in her own bubble.</p><p>“They have return?”</p><p>Suddenly the girl jumped. she had just realized something even more terrible.</p><p>“My mom is out there!” she cried.</p><p>"Your mom?"</p><p>Rapunzel began to zigzag, her face marked with dread.</p><p>"My mother is in the woods... with these things?"</p><p>“Wait! There are more than one? ” worried Flynn.</p><p>“Ohnonono… She should have returned a long time ago, right? Does that mean she’s in danger? Maybe she just got a little lost. But what if she came across one of them? She has no chance of getting out of it. My god, what should I do? ”</p><p>Her mind stopped on an image. She turned to look at what she had in mind: her magical weapon. The tool that frightened her so much was encouraging her strange idea. Rapunzel remained rooted on the spot, torn between what her reason was screaming at her and that a terrifying murmur was begging her to try. She didn't even know where to start. These woods were undoubtedly immense. She heard the creak of the chair to which the intruder was tied and her idea finally seemed doable. Insane, but doable. She turned to him, which froze him again in anguish.</p><p>"Mister Rider," she whispered, more like pleading than being assertive, "you said that you had often traveled through these woods. I need you to help me find my mother. "</p><p>“What ?! No way! I could be more comfortable but right now, I think I’m safer here. ”</p><p>“Probably, but I don’t really give you a choice actually.”</p><p>“What do you mean?” the thief stammered, as the girl approached him like a panther, until she stopped her aggressive face close to his own.</p><p>"I mean that either you accompany me voluntarily, or I drag you behind me tied up in my hair."</p><p>Flynn's eyes widened again in amazement. He could see in her own that she was serious. He was then taken aback when the young girl's surly expression melted like ice under the sun. She was aware of what she said and was concerned. With a big sigh, her shoulders became loose and her eyes, begging.</p><p>"Please," she whispered, "she is the only family I have."</p><p>Despite what he had just undergone, the girl's sad look piqued Flynn's heart. She was sincere, but he couldn't understand her. One moment, she was threatening to kill him, and the next, she seemed to regret her action and was calling on his kindness. He didn't know what to think of her.</p><p>“Look, he sighed, even if I wanted to go back out there, don't you think it's better to wait here? She would prefers for you to be safe, right? ”</p><p>"On this point, we agree." Rapunzel conceded. "However, I don't want to risk losing her to feel safe."</p><p>This statement surprised Flynn. He didn't know if it was unconsciousness or courage. An idea arises in the head of the golden haired girl. An idea that gave birth to a little smirk.</p><p>"By the way," she said, "I guess you want to retrieve your satchel and its precious content?"</p><p>“My satchel!” remembered the thief, almost panicking. "Where is it?"</p><p>"I've hidden it." proudly announced Rapunzel. "Somewhere you’ll never find it."</p><p>Flynn scanned the room with a strained look and suggested, still tensed.</p><p>"Um... I would say it’s in that pot."</p><p>“Nice try but no. That’s already where I hide my weapon usually. So I placed your bag in my second best hideout. So, what do you think? You help me find and bring back my mother and then I’ll give you your satchel.”</p><p>Flynn tried to find a way out of this situation but had no idea. He had to admit, this woman was an excellent negotiator. He could still try to escape if the monsters appeared, but if he did that, he could say goodbye to his loot and that would have made everything he had gone through today pointless.</p><p>“Well, since you already told me you would bring me with you whether I like it or not, I should be grateful you proposed this.”</p><p>“Indeed.” confirmed Rapunzel, with an affirmative squeak from her reptilian friend.</p><p>The thief sighed in frustration and grumbled to himself.</p><p>“This is kind of an off day for me. This doesn't normally happen.”</p><p>He looked up at the lady in pink. She seemed as impatient as a kid who knew she was about to get a present. This disturbed him even more. She really went from one attitude to another without warning. Flynn noticed the chameleon on his own shoulder giving him an accusing look. He ends up resigning.</p><p>“Fine! I’ll help you find your mother. ”</p><p>Rapunzel exploded with joy. However, the prisoner asked her with a worried tone.</p><p>“But what do we do if we come across one of this creature?”</p><p>The girl with the golden hair lost her smile. She walked relentlessly into the dark, before the intriguing eyes of Flynn and Pascal. When she got out, her gaze had become intense and sharp as a blade.</p><p>"Don’t worry." she said with a voice of iron and her weapon in the hand. “I take care of them.”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 10</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>In Corona, the lantern festival was a very serious matter. The only thing that could equal its importance was the one preoccupying the rulers of the kingdom at this moment. In the midst of the maids swarming in the castle courtyard to finish the preparations, the king and queen were listening with restraint to the apologies of the captain of the guard, surrounded by his shameful men. Stealing the princess's tiara was not only a capital offense but also a personal affront to them. The fact that a common thief was able to seize the only memory of their missing daughter filled them with a rage that only their royal dignity could temper. However, the disappearance of the criminal was making it even more difficult.</p><p>"I assure you that we will do everything possible to find him your highness." assured the captain. "We have already put a price on this thief's head and my men will not stop looking..."</p><p>"DAD !" interrupted a powerful voice.</p><p>Preceded by a galloping choir, Cassandra arrived in the courtyard on her running horse. All eyes were fixed on them with astonishment. The young woman forcefully stopped her charger, on which was placed a coarse bundle of canvases and ropes, just in time to avoid hitting the captain. The latter expressed his indignation as the rider jumped from her horse, making a strange chain on her belt click.</p><p>“Cassandra ?! Where were you ...? ”</p><p>Before he could interrogate her and remind how to behave in front of royalty, the captain's daughter interrupted him with a panicked voice and a look that he had never seen in her eyes.</p><p>"No time for that." She then addressed to the king without even catching her breath. “Your highness, there are monsters in the forest!”</p><p>This announcement astonished the entire assembly, which stared at her as if she were the local madwoman. The warrior saw nothing but surprise and annoyance around her, whether from the servants, the guards, the two monarchs or her father, who had only a sigh of frustration.</p><p>"Cassandra, if it’s about those stupid rumors this is neither the right place or moment."</p><p>“Rumors?” asked the queen.</p><p>“There has been some disappearances recently, explained the captain looking severly to his daughter, and some persons talked about curious sounds in the woods. We do our best to calm the people but some said it were monster’s screams and…”</p><p>"You think I'm making this up?" the warrior said, irritated, before throwing her package on the ground. “Then how do you call this?”</p><p>The young woman lifted part of the cloth and revealed to the world the bloody ophidian nightmare that was hidden inside. People jumped, trembled and screamed in front of the horned monstrosity in his blood-stained shroud. The horror contaminated the entire assembly, which moved backward from it. Some brave men managed to approach the beast to check that their eyes were not deceiving them. This humanoid skull, these goat's horns, these wild animals' fangs ... the terror caused by this heresy to the laws of nature was only overcome by the disgust of the observers when they discovered the cubitus of the beast stuck in his skull through the back of the throat. Several guards looked away, assaulted by a violent guttural fit.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god…” whispered the horrified queen.</p><p>A heavy and cold silence imposed itself on the kingdom. The people turned towards its sovereign with a fragile hope filled with fear. The king was paralyzed. In his entire life, he had never seen or heard of creatures like him. Even the ancient legends of Corona had nothing so disgusting. His frozen mind did not come out of his amazement until Cassandra called out in a pleading voice.</p><p>“Your highness, I don’t know what this things are, but there are more out there. What do you want us to do? ”</p><p>The king looked around the courtyard. His servants all had the same terrified look, waiting for a reaction. He remained stuck for a moment on the corpse of the filthy creature, its yellowish skin, its pasty tongue and its twinkling yellow eye. For the first time in his life, he was lost. What were these things? How many were there? And more important, why did they have to appear today? Couldn’t he mourn his daughter quietly? His eyes searched for his wife. Despite the situation, Arianna was sympathetic. She knew how he felt and understand him. She took his hand and begged him without words to play his role, just for a minute. The king looked up and addressed his subjects firmly.</p><p>"None of you shall talk about these creatures right now. We need more informations first and prevent peoples from panicking. Captain, you will tell your men to make sure no one gets out of town, including by boat. However, let anyone who wants to enter do it. And then send some messengers to tell to all the villages that a threat to the kingdom has been spotted and that everyone must stay at home, until further notice. "</p><p>"Yes your highness!" greeted the soldier. "Should we cancel the lanterns’ release?"</p><p>The sovereign's marble posture cracked, but he still managed to keep it and responded.</p><p>“It’s too late for that. It's scheduled for tomorrow and some might want to leave if we do. They are safer here. You will announce a curfew which will apply as soon as the event happened."</p><p>The king then turned his imposing gaze on Cassandra. She felt a little embarrassed by it. She had done everything she supposed necessary to help without thinking too much about it, including overcoming her disgust to bring back the corpse of one of these monsters to have evidences. It was only now that she realized how impactful her act had been. She had always wanted recognition from her father, but the attention of the king was both unexpected and more intimidating than she would have imagined.</p><p>“Miss Cassandra, pronounced the monarch, is there anything else you need to tell us?”</p><p>The young woman tried to overcome her embarrassment to clear the mess her mind had become. She didn't know what to say. the battle itself had been a storm in which every second was muddled. One thing clearly appeared to her, like the eye of the storm.</p><p>“I met someone in the forest. A strange and colossal warrior in green armor with magical weapons. ”</p><p>The king raised an eyebrow, without interrupting the young woman. After what he had just discovered, it was not unbelievable.</p><p>“I don’t know who he was.” she finished. “He didn’t talk and disappeared before I could do anything. But he fought the monsters and killed them all without an hesitation. ”</p><p>“And you said he had… magical weapons?” asked the king.</p><p>“Yes. They were made of metal and spit fire and smoke. Like some kind of… dragons.”</p><p>The monarch ran a hand over his beard, thoughtful. He ends up commanding the captain of the guard.</p><p>“Do as I said.” he fixed the young woman with authority. ”Make sure she tells everything she knows to your men and send her with your messengers.”</p><p>“Your highness ...?” asked with concern the soldier.</p><p>“She fought them once and survived. She will know better than anyone what to do if these things or this warrior are reported outside. "</p><p>The king approached the young woman and put a heavy hand on her shoulder.</p><p>"Congratulation Miss Cassandra," he said in a voice sorry about the circumstances, "you are officially part of the guard."</p><p>Lost in amazement, eyes as big as two moons, the warrior mechanically saluted her king. The latter joined the queen, telling the captain to inform him when everything was done, before disappearing into the castle with her. Cassandra stood there for a moment. She had spent her life dreaming of being recognized by her father as a member of the guard, protecting people and arousing respect and admiration. So why was she not euphoric? Her head turned toward the body of steel lying on the ground. Her fight was looping in her head. The memory of these sharp-fanged monsters spitting their frozen breath in her face. She would have to return to face these creatures of fire and blood which had almost torn her flesh with their claws. A voice awoke her. It was her father, deeply worried.</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>The young woman didn’t know what to answer. She wanted to say that she was perfectly fine and would accomplish her mission without problems, but she couldn't. She was stuck.</p><p>"I don’t know." she admitted. “I should be but…”</p><p>Cassandra's shoulders became loose and her gaze lost.</p><p>“I was ready.” she whispered, before correcting. “I thought I was ready. I was ready to face any bandit or pirate, but these monsters ... It was not even me who killed them. I didn’t manage to kill even this one." Cassandra looked up at her father. “I fought with all my might and yet I failed…”</p><p>Cassandra couldn't finish her sentence. It was now her father who put a hand on her shoulder, a hand light as a feather.</p><p>“We all live this moment. Every guards. Every soldiers. ” he said with a voice full of regrets, under the confused gaze of his daughter. “The moment you discover that the real world is nothing like any training sessions you had.”</p><p>The young woman did not know how to react. It was the first time she had seen her father like that. It was like he had suffered the greatest failure of his life.</p><p>“My only ambition was to keep you safe, he sighed, but it seems it doesn’t depends on me now. I can only tell you this. “He put both his hands on her shoulder and looked at her in the eyes. “You did great with what you knew. Now, you just have to be better, because you can, Cassandra. If anyone can overcome this, it’s you. ”</p><p>Cassandra remained dumbfounded. Her father ended up walking away to tell the king's orders. When he finished commanding the guards who were still there, he threw an order over his shoulder, with his commanding voice.</p><p>“Bring that thing to the barracks. We’ll need your report before your departure.”</p><p>Cassandra came back down to earth. While her father was leaving the castle with his troops, the warrior stood in front of the rotting creature. She looked into the dead eye of the beast. Her hand went up alone to the object hanging from her belt. Her fingers brushed the dark links, then the cold iron skull and finally the sharp hook. She picked up the evil weapon to contemplate it without knowing what she was looking for. In the curved blade, she could see her reflection and her eyes full of fear.</p><p>In his massacre, the warrior who saved her life inadvertently snatched the object from the creature's arm. Cassandra did not know why, but when she recovered the body of the monster, she couldn’t take her eyes off this snake of steel. Her mind refused to forget the thing that almost cut off her throat. Nor the fear that had turned her into a frightened child, into a weak little prey facing the mouth of nightmarish wolves. She clasped the links in her fists. As she looked at her reflection, her gaze had sharpened, like it was mirroring the weapon itself. She would not forget this day. She would not forget her failure. She took the other end of the chain and wrapped her left wrist tightly with it. The next time she would meet one of these creatures, she wouldn’t be the prey. Never again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 11</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>At the foot of the tower, at the end of a golden cascade, Flynn snapped his boots on a ground he didn’t want to walk on and wondered about his lifestyle choices. He was soon joined by the tormentor who had convinced him to return in this haunted woods. Her rapid descent stopped when her bare feet clapped on the grass. Rapunzel untied her hair from the high perched hook and rolled it up to bear it like a big bundle. With the little chameleon on her shoulder, the young girl gave her guide a cold look and started walking towards the opening to the forest without saying a word.</p><p>The thief was not sure if he wanted to make the slightest comment, either to make her give up her idea or to satisfy his curiosity. The young lady was strange enough to raise many questions, about her house cut off from the rest of the world or her impressively long hairs. However, her snake like eyes, as piercing as fangs, and the incredible weapon she kept on her, catched by a belt added over her pink dress, to which was also attached her frying pan, discouraged him from interrupting her.</p><p>The lady with the golden hair stopped her steps in front of the obscure opening to the outside world. Flynn worried about what this brutal halt could announce. He then discovered that Rapunzel's face had completely changed. Her determined look was replaced by trembling lips and large sparkling eyes. Her package of hairs slipped from her hands. She cautiously approached the green curtain in front of her and raised a leaden hand towards it. Her fingers did not dare to cover the distance. She mechanically pushed aside the ivy bars and was almost blinded by the sun's rays. After getting used to it, Rapunzel stepped out of her universe.</p><p>There was the cool shade of the trees, constellations of flowers, unknown rocks, the caress of the wind, the infinity of the sky... A wave of newness was intoxicating the girl. Rapunzel was not dreaming of being outside his tower. She was no longer halfway from it. No walls. No cliff. Just her and the freedom of running and racing and dancing and chasing and leaping and bounding, hair flying, heart pounding and splashing and reeling… Under the happy gaze of Pascal and the puzzled one of Flynn, the young girl laughed, then run everywhere. For a moment her attention was drawn to a small pond and its lotuses, the next moment to a flowerbed... Everything the forest had to offer made her explode with an innocent joy that destabilized the thief.</p><p>The longer he stayed by her side, the less Flynn managed to understand her. Rapunzel acted like an ingenuous child mesmerized by the slightest butterfly, while barely a few seconds before she threatened him with a deadly object without mercy. Trying to understand her was a balancing act so delicate that his mind did not dare to try it. The slightest misstep could have awakened the beast hidden under this unexpected mask of purity. He had known women of character, he had even nearly married one, but with Rapunzel, it was not the same thing. Unlike these, she didn't make him feel like she was playing with his nerves for fun or showing her teeth to not be underestimated. When her dark gaze landed on him, his heart blocked, feeling through them that he was nothing at all for her and that if she wanted, she could easily make him disappear from her sight. So he dared not do anything except observe with puzzlement and relief the cheerful damsel in front of him. However, after getting used to this candid spectacle, he reminded where they were and called her out.</p><p>"Um ... sorry to interrupt this lovely show, but didn't you want to find your mother?"</p><p>The girl in the pink dress widened her eyes, before laughing in embarrassment.</p><p>"Sorry. It’s the first time in my life that I really go out of my tower.”</p><p>"Seriously?" asked Flynn. "Your mother must be really... Um..."</p><p>Flynn wanted to slap himself for starting this sentence. He started to stutter, unable to figure out how to finish it. If he wanted to see his treasure again, saying bad things about the parents of his blackmailer wasn't the best option.</p><p>"Paranoid?" gently suggested the girl.</p><p>Flynn was speechless. Not because of the fear of confirming this word, but because of Rapunzel's understanding tone and look.</p><p>"It's okay." she reassured, sighing. “Sometimes I think the same thing, but her heart is in the right place. I'm sure of it."</p><p>The thief did not know how to react. This girl was continuing to surprise him. Even more when he realized that he began to regret his words.</p><p>"Well, he tried to admit, considering what is lying around in these woods, she probably..."</p><p>The rustling of the leaves of a bush interrupted him.</p><p>“AH!” he yelled. "What is that?! A monster?! They want to eat me?! I’m not that good!"</p><p>Flynn, eyes wide, raised his fists ready to strike while Rapunzel grabbed her magic weapon. Pascal took refuge in a flash in the giant hair of his friend who pointed at the moving plant with a precise eye, her arm perfectly aligned and her index finger ready to pull the trigger. Suddenly, under the duo's dumbfounded eyes, a ball of brown and white fur sprang from between the leaves: a small, bushy and cute little rabbit.</p><p>“Stay calm.” joked Rapunzel. “They can probably smell fear.”</p><p>Flynn sighed as much of relief as irritation. He and Rapunzel relaxed as Pascal peeked out of his hair made hiding place. The intrigued squeak that he pushed aroused the curiosity of the girl who observed the little beast, his ears drooping, his rapid breathing ... His muzzle moved, his eyes widened and he ran at incredible speed. A new rustle echoed and a skeletal mass leapt with a wild howl out of the greenery. A saving reflex allowed Rapunzel to extricate herself from its trajectory. Flynn narrowly avoided him and shouted when the thing looked up at him.</p><p>He managed to grasp the shape of the creature only after putting distance between them in a confused move. His mind refused to consider it a human being. Yet everything was there to declare the opposite. In other circumstances, he could have confused this thing with a skinny man crushed by a dreadful famine. Only the supernatural shine of its acid pupils and the absence of its lips, as if torn off by hand, killed all possible doubts. It spitted a wild rale between its sticky teeth and its leathery skin suggested an inverted pentacle engraved on its forehead.</p><p>A hissing light slapped the monster. It turned its head for a second and another one literally exploded its face. Flynn, dazed and nauseous, stared at the headless body and the vital fluids that flowed from the throat and spine of the corpse, before turning his gaze toward its executioner. The girl's look had become icy again. Her arm was not shaking. New screams echoed between the trees and other creatures emerged from the shadow. In an instant, the duo was completely surrounded.</p><p>“Damn it, how many are there?!” cried Rider.</p><p>"Stay calm," said Rapunzel with a firm voice, "and eliminate them. Without hesitation."</p><p>Drowned in panic, Flynn did not focused on this mortal order. His survival instinct only let him stutter.</p><p>"But ... with what weapon?"</p><p>With an abrupt gesture, the young girl pressed an object against her guide who seized it with a confused gesture. Finding out that it was a frying pan did nothing to enlighten him.</p><p>“Are you kidding me?!”</p><p>The creatures interrupted the conversation. Two zombies ran toward Flynn. He dodged with a dexterity that testified of his long years of adventures. Without waiting, his arm propelled the black iron plate against the head of one of the monsters, throwing him back. He wasted no time hitting the second zombie. When Flynn finally realized how much help the kitchen utensil had been, he sneered.</p><p>“Oh mama! I've gotta get me one of these. "</p><p>The two corpses did not stay on the ground for very long. Flynn only had time to see Rapunzel dodging the assaults of the creatures she faced like a dancer. Her fluid movements helped her appear at a perfectly calculated distance which made her having the magical weapon a few centimeters from her enemy when she fired. While Flynn again hit the zombies that threw himself on him. One of them stopped moving. He thought he heard a cracking sound when he had knocked on it. He hit the second with all his might, holding the pan in both hands. His enemy flew against a tree. He then discovered on the Rapunzel’s side of the battlefield five corpses. Two had no more head, the others had holes in the chest. Some were missing an arm or a leg.</p><p>The golden-haired girl was breathing loudly. Her face was stained with blood and her wide eyes made the thief back away. They were no longer cold like a sharp blade but boiling with rage. She advanced towards the thief with a firm and rapid, almost beastly, steps. He raised his trembling hands, gibbering words supposed to remind her that he was not an enemy. Without stopping, the damselle took the frying pan from his hand and trampled the grass under her bare feet until she was in front of the zombie that Rider had thrown against a tree. The creature didn't even have time to get back on its feet as Rapunzel smashed its face before raising her improvised weapon. She screamed and smashed the skull of her prey. The monster’s head was then buried in its own rib cage before collapsing once and for all.</p><p>A shrill groan that Rapunzel knew well attracted her eyes to the height. Without warning, she dropped her bloody frying pan, grabbed her hair and threw it skillfully at Flynn. The gold rope wrapped around his ankle and Rapunzel pulled it to make him fall and avoid a sphere of fire that burned grass, while she rotated to explode the head of an Imp hung in a distant tree. The last corpse fell off. Rapunzel tried to catch her breath, under the terrified and impressed look  of her guide.</p><p>She raised her hand to her face and sighed, before discovering how Flynn was. Physically, he was fine, but the look he had worried her. She was beginning to know this one perfectly, that look of deep terror that revealed a pressing desire to flee to the end of the world. However, she realized with dismay that it was not the monsters, but herself who was the cause this time. Rapunzel widened her eyes and saw the blood staining her hand. She took a step away from the young man, who discovered that she was also starting to tremble in fear.</p><p>As he was about to say something, the ground started to shake. His thoughts stopped and turned towards the source of great strides which crushed a stump. If the zombies had repelled them, the paunchy mass that appeared ended up disgusting them. A new monster, as big as a house, with a plump belly and arms of steel, emerged from the between the trees and spitted a disgusting scream from its mouth full of teeth like boar tusks. The girl wasted no time in shooting it. The thing didn’t seemed to notice the impact. She fired again, many times, but the obese creature wasn’t scratched by the magic weapon.</p><p>“I… I think it’s the right time to run!” screamed Flynn.</p><p>Despite this, Rapunzel remained an automaton that fired in a loop, eyes wide. It was not possible for her. She couldn't be helpless against these things again. All these hours of training, all the courage she had displayed, had it all been for nothing? She shot fluorescent balls over and over against the ogre, with no effect, Rider's voice in the background. She stopped when her body froze in terror, the moment two other imps joined it. The fat thing raised his two metal arms and pointed them at her, their steel tubes lighting up like doors to the flames of hell.</p><p>The light of the flames disappeared when a loud clicking resonated and the monster recoiled. The next moment, an incredible detonation roared and the creature's skull exploded in a firework of blood and brains. The fat mass collapsed like a dead tree. From the shadow behind it, under the bewildered gaze of the humans and remaining monsters, a steel giant with a smoking weapon appeared like a hunter on the corpse of his giant trophy. The imps howled like mad dogs. Flynn remained frozen in terror and amazement. Pascal dared to take a look out of his hiding place. Rapunzel smiled.</p><p>A demon jumped towards the Slayer, which explodes it in mid-air with a shot from his super shotgun. The second tried to attack but his assault was interrupted by a stroke of the gripp. In a metallic screech, a blade spread under the warrior's arm. With a surgical gesture, he cut the demon in half. The part with the head rolled to the ground. The colossus leaped down from his altar of flesh and finished the job with a kick that burst its head like a balloon.</p><p>The Slayer scanned the area but did not find other demons. He expected more resistance, but then discovered the corpses of the zombies and imp that he had not executed himself. His gaze fell on the girl in the pink dress. She had the gun in her hand. He made the connection and relaxed. He was satisfied. Rapunzel approached him under the worried look of Flynn. The steel warrior's impressive stature and strangeness blocked him, while the girl finished reducing the distance between her and the colossus.</p><p>"I didn't think I would say that one day," she admitted, "but I'm glad to see you."</p><p>“What?! You know him? ” asked Flynn.</p><p>The damsel didn't answer. She was captivated by the Slayer's visor, or rather what she saw through it. For the first time since its appearance, she could perceive the eyes of the one who had turned her existence upside down. Beyond the glass, Rapunzel discovered eyes like swords, frozen in an eternal state of concentration and fury. Despite the transparency of this new helmet, Rapunzel could not penetrate even a little bit the mystery of this giant. She noticed how his armor had changed. Metallic growths on the arms and knees added to its imposing appearance, as did the absence of iron on his biceps as big as trunks. He turned away from the damsel and started to walk away.</p><p>“Wait!” Rapunzel interrupted, standing in front of him and making him stop. “I am looking for my mother. I... I'm afraid that something happened to her with all these monsters around. The weapon that you gave me... It’s nice, really, don’t think I don’t appreciate it, but I think it isn’t very powerful compared to yours. Could you help us find her? Please?”</p><p>An electronic voice echoed inside the warrior's helmet.</p><p>“I have to inform you that I no longer perceive any demonic presence on this world at the moment. Dr. Hayden, however, has detected some on several others and in certain parallel dimensions. ”</p><p>The Slayer remained motionless in front of the girl. His eyes didn't changed. Rapunzel's hope disappeared. She knew that if he didn't want to do something, there was nothing she could do to convince or force him. The colossus looked at the corpse of the mancubus. He then saw the pistol that the girl was clutching, as well as the blood on her porcelain face and her little fingers. She was not injured. So it was not hers. She had fought without holding back, but she was no longer well enough equipped now that she was out of her tower. The Slayer put his super shotgun back in his quantum bag and pulled out an old tool, the heavy assault rifle, that he had recently replaced with a more recent one.</p><p>Rapunzel widened her eyes and almost lost her balance when the giant put a huge block of metal in her arms. At first disconcerted, Rapunzel quickly understood what he was doing. Like the last time, he was giving her a strange gift. A heavy gift, but not as much as she expected. Whoever designed this object had a practical mind. Rapunzel put her pistol in her belt and observed the new object. Her little experience of the warrior's weapons was enough to understand which side the projectiles were coming from and where she had to grabbed it.</p><p>The damsel grabbed the grip with a firm hand and raised the end of the weapon with the other hand. Then she lifted it. The Slayer gently pressed the object against her shoulder, lowered her elbow and brought the hand that raised the barrel closer to the magazine. The girl offered no resistance and pointed the death machine in the direction indicated by the giant. Rapunzel thus aimed at the flabby belly of the monster killed earlier, her eyes lively and lips arched in a disturbing smile. When her finger squeezed the trigger, a mechanical fanfare threw her to the ground. Flynn reflexively thrown himself to the ground.</p><p>"I'm okay!" Rapunzel reacted quickly.</p><p>As quickly as her huge gift allowed it, she stood up with embarrassment. She hoped she hadn't upset or disappointed the giant of steel and muscle. The latter was simply looking at her. He was just waiting. In the absence of judgment, the anguish that squeezed Rapunzel's throat eased to the point of making her let out an embarrassed little laugh.</p><p>"It’s a very different weapon." she declared. "It pushes more than the other."</p><p>"The recoil."</p><p>Rapunzel and the Slayer turned in the direction of the thief who had spoken by reflex. This new attention crushed him as he was intimidated by the giant. His mind, with an uncontrollable desire  to not seem ridiculous, ended his explanation with difficulty.</p><p>"If ... if it’s like crossbows, the push when you shoot is called the recoil."</p><p>The damsel's joyful voice helped him to relax a bit.</p><p>"Oh! Thank you.”</p><p>"You're welcome." quickly concluded the thief.</p><p>He didn't want to attract the attention of this massive stranger more than necessary. He was not proud of it, and would deny it if asked about it, but this strange fighter frightened him. He felt insignificant in front of him. It wasn’t because of his titanic musculature or his impossible equipment, it was his instinct that shouted at him to not approach him. During his years of adventure and mischief, he had learned to sense if a person was dangerous. This metal monster, without even having to speak to him, made him want to disappear as soon as possible.</p><p>Rapunzel took a deep breath and then realigned the heavy assault rifle with her training target. She briefly pulled the trigger. A few bullets spun and the recoil, although impressive, no longer destabilized her. She had hit her target, not exactly where she wanted it, but seeing how the gun moved, she understood why. She fired another round. Then another. At each of them, Rapunzel understood better how the rifle worked. If she shoots a small salvo, she could remain more or less precise. If she kept the button pressed, she could rain death on her enemy, but the weight and force of the weapon prevented her from keeping the machine upright. And yet, if she stayed focused and managed her shots pragmatically, she could do much more damage. When she finished learning, she clings to the deadly engine and kept the trigger pressed to pour out her frustration on the creature that had made her so nervous.</p><p>An explosive symphony and a flashy rain of cartridges followed. The decapitated ogre's abdomen was pierced with so many holes that its flesh tore open to pour an avalanche of big guts and a torrent of blood on the ground. The barbaric butchering stopped when the weapon went silent. Rapunzel, surprised, pressed the button again, but nothing happened. She then noticed that the small block facing the handle was now a bit different. It was filled with little gray cylinders the moment before. This was no longer the case. Before she could ask a question, the colossus pressed a small button on the weapon which made the block fall at the girl's foot. From his quantum bag, the Slayer pulled out a new block similar to the one he had removed and placed it in the young blonde's hand. She wasted no time in putting it in the exact location of its predecessor. She felt resistance as she dragged the block into the weapon, but quickly put an end to it by pressing hard. She quickly tried to pull the trigger but nothing happened. The Slayer grabbed an iron tap above the handle with his fingertips and made it back away. Rapunzel tried to shoot again and this time the deadly deluge resumed.</p><p>The girl tried to imitate him. She pressed the button again, put back the magazine and pulled the tab. She looked up optimistically at the Slayer, who didn't change his expression. He had done what he had to do. He took out of his quantum bag five magazines which he dropped to the ground before turning his back on Rapunzel and moving away with his usual imposing steps.</p><p>"Um ... excuse me." tried the thief, placing himself in front of the colossus and walking backwards. “Flynn Rider. I'm with blondie. You know, if you have some other gadgets like this one I... “</p><p>The slayer grabbed his shoulder and swung him sideways without slowing down. Bluish lightning cracked before revealing a portal in front of the warrior. He got through the opening to other spaces, before the gate itself disappeared. Flynn was speechless. He got out of his dismay when the shadow of Rapunzel fell on him. He looked up to find her with the giant weapon in hand and Pascal on the shoulder. The young lady asked him with her jovial voice, a little inappropriate according to him.</p><p>"So? Where are we going now? It is not by staying there that we will find my mother. ”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Chapter 12</strong>
  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>The birds’ song decorated the forest like little bells accompanied by the rustling of the leaves. From time to time, the breeze blew to revive the melody of this wild chime interspersed with sweet silences and accompanied by the cordial scent of ancient oaks. Everything was calm. Far too calm for Maximus. The white horse cautiously pulled its head out from behind the bush which served as its hiding place and put forward its alarmed look and its ears on the watch. Each dark corner and a little too big tree was a potential traitor from which could spring a new nightmarish creature. He perceived the cracking of the grass and before even looking for the origin of it, he threw himself behind a rock. As a precaution, he caught with his teeth a branch with thick foliage to enlarge his hideout, without realizing that it gave it a horse-like shape.</p><p>Footsteps crushed the vegetation and the noise got louder and louder. The origin approached Maximus whose fear grew as the gap narrowed. Against his will, the horse had started to tremble. He didn't like this feeling of weakness he hadn't felt since his childhood. He was a soldier in the service of the kingdom and needed to act as such. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, stretched each of his muscles and leaped out of his hiding place with a terrible neigh. It was not until the four hooves were planted in the ground and the fear subsided that he realized that what had put him in such a state was nothing more than a skinny old lady in a dress red like an old rose, a basket of mushrooms and wild fruits on her arm and her hand grabbing a dagger on her belt. She jumped in amazement at the sight of the white animal which, conversely, sighed in relief.</p><p>"A palace horse..." noted Mother Gothel as she calmed down. Then her voice began to tremble. "Where's your rider?" </p><p>She and Maximus froze when an awful hoarse howl crossed the woods and blocked their minds in a state of dread and incomprehension. A frozen silence reigned over the two bodies, motionless like stone statues whose eyes reflected a palpable fear. The tension was then cut off by a crash of thunder which filled their bodies with spasms of panic. The white horse neighs before fleeing in the opposite direction of this terrible scream, while the old lady had only one thought which crossed her mind and got out loudly.</p><p>“Rapunzel!”</p><p>As if chased by the grim reaper itself, Gothel ran at top speed to the thread that kept her alive. Her lungs burst with fire with each breath as she accelerated with her legs tensed like strings too tight. She lost her basket on the way, as it was only slowing her down. After a frantic run, Gothel got back to the hiding place which she hoped was still secret. At the bottom of the tower, she called her precious treasure with an anguished voice. She did it several times but didn’t heard Rapunzel’s light voice. Overwhelmed by fear, Gothel threw herself on the ivy then the rocks which blocked her secret entrance. Her hooked fingers grasped the rubble and throw them without revealing if it offered any resistance. The passage opened again, Gothel launched herself in a staircase where the air was so dusty that she could not help but coughing up.</p><p>At the last step, each parcel of her body were stabbed by exhaustion, but Gothel pushed back the slab which sealed the access for so long to discover her house plunged in darkness. The old lady called her treasure with more dread while searching for it. She swung each sheet, opened each door and, completely panicked, tore down some curtains on her way, and despite the cold light from outside, she did not find the slightest trace of the precious golden hairs. </p><p>Her heart was a drum and her gaze, filled with terror. Her head was containing a storm of thousand thoughts and feelings colliding until a detail brought some surprise. On one of the pieces of furniture revealed by the light, a pottery was in pieces. She had been so vigilant for the past few days that she had kept track of every single item in this tower and there was nothing broken there before she left. When her gaze focused on the object in shreds, she noticed a strange dark spot on the wall just behind. She approached it with a step slowed down by prudence but stopped when her eye started to sting and blink all alone. Gothel discovered a ray of light which reflected by an unknown source from the staircase leading to the second floor. Against all logic, it was coming directly from one of the stone steps. This ray attracted her attention and led her to discover that the said step was removable. </p><p>She had no time to wonder how she had never noticed it because the contents of the cavity intrigued her much more. She took out a leather satchel and discovered inside the object which had returned a ray to her through a small opening in the stone. This made her panic again because it was the famous crown designed for the Princess of Corona. The old lady dropped it to the ground as if the gold was hot. How could a memory of this past that she had spent eighteen years hiding be there? Possessed by the need for an answer, Gothel looked in the satchel and discovered a crumpled wanted poster in the name of Flynn Rider. She knew to who direct her fury now.</p><p>As she was about to get up, grabbing the dagger from her belt, Gothel noticed that the hiding place still contained something: a pile of drawings. She recognized the colorful and childish style of Rapunzel automatically, but why would she need to hide this kind of thing, she who spent her time covering the walls of the tower with her childish coloring? The old lady grabbed the stack of paper and studied the first of them. It had nothing special compared to the many others she had seen in the past. It was just a portrait of the girl in an assured posture and with a determined look in the same style as when she played an adventurer or showed her pride to have successfully finished something new. However, on this one, Gothel noticed a strange element: a dark green object which she held in both hands. She couldn't identify it, as it was unlike anything she knew. Maybe it was just a toy she made while she was gone, but she didn't remember seeing anything similar.</p><p>The old lady went on to the second drawing and it made her gasp with fear. If the naive but elegant style of Rapunzel was still present, the thing that was portrayed had nothing to do with her usual subjects. It was a blood-red creature holding a ball of fire between its yellowish claws. Gothel recognized this monster, its bony spikes and inhuman legs, because she had seen the corpse of one several days ago, in the middle of the bloodthirsty mass grave she discovered in front of the cave. How could Rapunzel have portrayed one of these, and with so much details, without leaving the tower?</p><p>She hurried on to the next drawing and sank even deeper into dismay. Rapunzel was once again represented, but she seemed worried and held a frying pan firmly in her hands. She was intimidated by the second character represented and Gothel herself was when she discovered him. In front of the girl stood a colossus in greenish armor. Was he some sort of knight? She could not affirm it for he did not looked a soldiers of Corona at all. What he was wearing was too complex and strange. But it was his size that impressed Gothel the most. If the drawing was accurate to reality, Rapunzel was barely reaching his chest. He was more than a tall man, he was a giant. How could have Rapunzel imagine such a character?</p><p>One last paper was hidden behind. Gothel slid the third one like a curtain, afraid of what she would discover behind. First appeared Rapunzel on the ground, huddled against a wall with eyes wide in terror. Then it was one of those horrible red creatures. However, it was not looking at Rapunzel and seemed to be struggling against something. And in the end, Gothel discovered that the monster was actually hold by the throat by the giant in armor who raised a gigantic fist while maintaining a posture as imposing and straight as if he had held a mouse between his fingers. </p><p>Gothel didn’t understand anything. What did all of this mean? Was it just the girl's imagination? Or had she missed something much more important? Now, she had to recover her source of youth not only to shelter it, but also to get answers.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p>“I know it's around here… Somewhere…” thought Rider, arriving on a dirt road.</p><p>The thief made sure that the package he had been given was still in place, before glancing back to make sure that the frightening source of all his misfortunes was still behind him. The young girl in a pink dress raised with a hand on her shoulder the improvised rope which barred her chest, while the other one was holding the bundle she had formed by rolling up her very long hair. When she looked up at him with an innocent smile, Flynn had for a second the impression of being accompanied by a completely ordinary lady with a radiant ingenuousness. Until his gaze landed on her belt, which held her pan and small magic weapon, which remind him what was hidden behind her back, under a veil of golden threads.</p><p>The rope was simply a long piece of pink fabric torn from the bottom of her dress, but what it was holding made it kinda gloomy. Rapunzel was carrying her new gift with a casualness that made the thief shiver. The impossible instrument of death that the giant had entrusted to her and taught her to use was hidden under her long hair like a wild beast in tall grass. Rapunzel had then removed another portion of her dress, which now reached right under her knees, to create a makeshift backpack to store the five cartridge clip left by the Slayer. She then entrusted the transport of the ammunitions to Rider, who didn’t know to respond to this unexpected and unwanted responsibility.</p><p>Initially very reluctant to the idea of playing the carrier in addition to being a guide, but in the end he accepted; partially because she insisted with small eyes that would have competed with the most adorable puppies on the planet, and mostly because he feared her reaction if he had refused. However, what she had told him after that, with her unpredictable but touching innocence, had made the task less painful to his own surprise.</p><p>“I stole your satchel from you. See it as a way for me to apologize until I give it back to you.”</p><p>Rider scanned the road, his hand on his pink backpack, finally expressing his relief.</p><p>“Aaah! There it is! The Snuggly Ducklings. ”</p><p>“You think my mother is there?” asked Rapunzel with hope.</p><p>“Well… from your tower, it's the nearest place I know where someone can buy provisions. I would say there's a reasonable chance.”</p><p>“Great! Besides, I do like ducklings. ”</p><p>Rider arched an eyebrow, still bewildered every time this killer’s apprentice said something childish, as she took the lead with Pascal on the shoulder. He then remember the clientele of this place and hurried to catch up with her. The girl was however too fast and when he reached her, she had already opened the door with a strength that was not discreet at all.</p><p>When the roar of this smashing entrance finished resonating in the establishment, Rapunzel and Rider tensed as dozens of eyes injected with blood and cheap alcohol looked at them. The room, poorly lit by a crackling fire, was inundated by a swarming mass of muscles and rusty metal adorned with piercing horns, sharp blades and even yellowed teeth. Surprised, Rapunzel reflexively brought her free hand to the magic weapon on her belt, before relaxing when she realized that she had nothing but simple brigands in front of her. She let out a slight sigh of relief that discharged the tension in her muscles while her guide put a firm hand on her shoulder and whispered with perfect calm.</p><p>“Let's just ask and go away.”</p><p>Rider then stepped forward with the girl in an alley of dark looks. The little chameleon returned quickly to hide in his friend's hair as she scanned the surroundings. She heard Flynn ask out loud if anyone had seen someone matching the description of Rapunzel's mother, but she, on the other hand, was more intrigued by the surrounding wildlife that formed walls of worn leather whose flaws revealed sometimes curious characters: a stocky man with a hook, another one accompanied by a troop of large rats or even a tired cook whose pot let out greenish filaments... Rapunzel could feel that they were not welcome. The assembly's piercing eyes were shooting threats towards her that, despite their terrible sincerity, didn’t touch her. She saw only the colored irises of their worn eyes filled with anger and veiled by fatigue and alcohol. It was absolutely not like the uniform, blazing and savage glow of the monsters. She was stopped by a painful grip and discovered that it was one of those bandits whose curious little eyes were sliding over her golden hair.</p><p>“That's a lot of hair.” he said in a tired baritone voice.</p><p>“I'm growing it out.” replied Rapunzel calmly, releasing the strand he was holding.</p><p>She noticed small red spots on his mustache, a shade she now knew by heart. She forgot without losing time this dried blood to move towards the heart of the inn, close to a guy sprawled at the counter and whose size was not unlike that of his mysterious protector. Her eyes scanned the area without wasting time on the cranky men who were staring at her. Flynn came to the same conclusion as she did.</p><p>“Okay, she's clearly not here and I'm pretty sure nobody have seen her.” He grabbed her shoulders and eagerly pushed her out. "Maybe we should go, call it a day, maybe get you back to your tower where she's probably waiting for…"</p><p>Two steps from the door, it was closed abruptly in front of them with a powerful metallic slam by a very big hand. Its owner, the tall man she had noticed shortly before, had a muddy sheet of paper under it and pointed at it with an accusing finger.</p><p>“This is you?” he asked in a cavernous voice, his eyes fixed on Rider.</p><p>The duo then recognized one of Flynn’s wanted poster and understood the depth of the mess in which they were. In a desperate gesture, the thief raised one of the giant's fingers which hid a part of his portrait. As usual, his nose was absolutely not right.</p><p>"Oh, that's just being mean..." tried Rider. </p><p>However, the hooked man approached like a wolf behind them and confirmed what everybody knew. </p><p>“It's him all right. Greta! Go find some guard. ” </p><p>The said brigand rushed outside while the one who had given him this order grabbed Flynn eagerly.</p><p>“That reward is gonna buy me a new hook.” he announced with delight.</p><p>His neighbor didn’t appreciated this and seized the wanted criminal like an old bag, declaring that he needed money. The giant thug in turn took him, proclaiming the disastrous state of his personal finances. Under the lost gaze of Rapunzel, chaos contaminated all the customers. Everyone grabbed a piece of the thief and tried to get him for their own gain. This formed a pack of furious arm knots which Rider couldn't get out of and which more and more distressed Rapunzel. She screamed out loud to let him go. Nobody heard her. Her heart was pounding fast. She cried out louder and tried to reach Flynn herself with her frail arms. Nobody listened to her. The bandits were hitting each other for the possession of the thief in painful confusion. The fear of losing her guide filled Rapunzel's head with a fear. She needed air. Her heart was about to come out of her chest. Desperate, she grabbed her frying pan and begged them to give her back her guide. No one remembered she was there. She saw a form of organization forming among the criminals and all her hopes collapsed. Several arms held firmly the thief who had no way to move and changed him into a living target for the fist of the hooked man.</p><p>She could see what was about to happen: Flynn would lose consciousness and be handed over to the guard, leaving her alone in the unknown with no idea of how to find her mother. Her heart was pumping her blood at high speed. Her lungs kept asking for more air. Her muscles were stretched like ropes ready to give in. She knew this state too well. Except that this time it was caused  by low-ranking bandits without money. She couldn't accept this. She had faced much worse and refused to lose everything because of such a ridiculous obstacle. Her eyes widened. Her teeth clenched. The ice in her veins turned into fire. The colossal bandit held Flynn's head in his disproportionate hand as the hooked man was finishing preparing his fist. A hiss pierced the air, a large branch fell from the ceiling on the head of the bruiser and silence felt on the room. It needed more to knock out the hook-man, but the projectile had stopped him in his action and filled the eyes of the assembled crowd with amazement. He turned around in fury to see who had dared to interrupt him and could provoke such a reaction from his colleagues. All his anger was then extinguished like a candle when he discovered the girl in pink, short of breath, with a strange green object pointed at him and immense eyes filled with pure rage.</p><p>“Put-Him-Down.” she articulated in a strained voice.</p><p>Without giving anyone time to do anything, Rapunzel turned her arm, pressed the trigger and blew up a barrel whose contents dripped to the ground.</p><p>“NOW!” </p><p>Survival instinct made the brigands obey in a second and Flynn run next to her. Nobody knew what this object was, but they didn't need it. The unexpected warrior had made clear what she could do if they didn't do what she said. The newfound calm helped Rapunzel to calm down. Her heart slowed down. Her breath too. She realized, as if she had just woken up, the looks that were looking at her. From the most slimmest to the biggest of them, each of the criminals seemed frightened. The girl in pink could cut out the life of any of them in the blinking of an eye. All she had to do was move the cannon a few degrees and the target's head would be just a stain on the wall. Rapunzel looked up at Flynn. He too was afraid, unsure of what she was about to do. Pascal risked a look out of his hiding place, his scales caressing the nape of his friend, and it was her turn to be afraid. She lowered the pistol to the ground along with her discomfited face.</p><p>"Listen ..." she said in a tired voice. "Today is my birthday. I was supposed to ask my mom to let me out for the first time in my life to fulfill my dream. Since I was a little girl I want to go see the lanterns rise in the sky. Instead, I end up fighting to find her because she is probably in danger, lost in these woods filled with monsters, all that with a ton of metal and hair which I don't understand, and this man is the only person I know who can help me. I'm tired and scared, so please... give me a break. ” </p><p>A cathedral-like silence reigned in the inn. Flynn did not know how to react to this once again. He had already seen her cheerful, intimidating or sorry, but he was lost in the face of this emotional collapse that gripped his heart. His concern woke up when he perceived the hook-man approaching them. Fear made him move back while Rapunzel stand still and looked up, exhausted but solid, at him, her grip on the gun getting stronger. The fear changed into surprise when they discovered that the hook-man's face was no longer marked by anger or dread. His eyelids and lips seemed heavy, crushed by an old grief.</p><p>"I had a dream, once ..." he shared. </p><p>The brigand grabbed the axe on his back and threw it with improbable mastery at a chained musician who, when the weapon was planted an inch from his head, began to play, trembling in terror. Under the completely lost gaze of Rider, the whole inn gradually changed into a stage for musical performances. Each of the criminals began to sing to present his hidden dream, carried away by a surge of compassion and understanding for the girl who had started to smile again while putting her gun back on her belt. They knew in their own way how she felt: This feeling of not being able to be happy because of life’s tribulations. The hook-man presented his desire to become a pianist, the others talked about finding great love, becoming a florist, an interior designer, a mime, a pastry chef and so much more. They tried to recruit Flynn into their troop and the one, after having politely declared that he was not singing, allowed himself to be convinced under the threat of a dozen blades. His verse did not last long, however, since his dream of living on an island in total idleness did not convince many people. They much preferred to hear Rapunzel singing, without anyone realizing that Mother Gothel was watching at this phantasmagoria with anguish from a window. After several lively verses, which had ended with a general cheer, everything stopped when the door slammed to reveal Greta announcing with enthusiasm.</p><p>“I found the guards!”</p><p>In a regularly used reflex, Flynn grabbed Rapunzel's hand and hide with her behind the bar. The bandits were then all confused by discovering on the doorstep an unknown face. Several guards entered the establishment, with two red-haired and strong prisoners whom Rider recognized. Some stood at attention when the stranger, the gaze of an icy calm, entered with an authoritarian step. It was a woman with short hair black as the night carrying a long sword on her back and whose forearm was swaddled in a flashy chain. With her firm voice, she declared.</p><p>“Gentlemen, I heard you have something for us.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 13</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The Snuggly Duckling was known for receiving the worst criminals from the entire kingdom of Corona with open arms. Cassandra was therefore only half surprised when she was told that the most wanted criminal of the moment was there. She would have believed he was already on the other side of the frontier. In the end, she was delighted to have been wrong. Her father had asked her to warn the surrounding villages of the danger and give the to the inhabitants instructions to ensure their safety, but if she could bring Flynn Rider and the stolen crown with her, she was certain to prove that the king had been right to entrust her with this new responsibilities, and also to make her father proud. She had only survived her fight against the forest’s monsters. Now she wanted to show that she was not just lucky. The discovery and capture on the way of the Stabbington brothers had been a great surprise, but had been made by other guards earlier, without her intervention. When a bandit came to warn her and her troop that they had Rider, she practically saw this as fate. She intended to bring back with her the whole gang that had humiliated the royal guards and thus come back with her head held high.</p><p>As she finished entering the inn with an imperious looks, her target quickly returned to hide under the counter. He didn't know who this ebony-haired woman was, but her identity was less important than the visible authority she had over the guards or the presence of his former partners. He and Rapunzel had to find a way to escape as quickly as possible. As soon as she would see that the clients of the Snuggly Duckling had nothing for her, she would request her mens to search for him without delay. He was not afraid of a fight, especially since his encounter with the creatures earlier, but there, he did not felt in a position of strength. His tension jumped when he felt metal press against his shoulder. Lifting his gaze, he discovered the hooked man who was staring at him, before orienting his eyes in a clearly indicative purpose.</p><p>With a discreet gesture of his last hand, the big-hearted bandit activated a lever disguised as a beer tap to open a hatch leading to a hidden tunnel under the floor. Flynn and Rapunzel were astonished by this secret exit as the bandit, with a proud voice, told them.</p><p>“Go. Find her and live your dream. ”</p><p>"I will ..." replied Rider with relief.</p><p>"Your dream stinks," corrected their savior. “I was talking to her.”</p><p>Although a little annoyed, Flynn wasted no time and launched himself into the underground gallery. Rapunzel thanked the nice criminal from the bottom of her heart and placed a light kiss on his cheek. Full of a new energy and courage, she followed her guide in the tunnel, Pascal on her shoulder and all her metal gears on her back. The empathy of these brave bandits had fanned the flame of her dream and she was determined to take advantage of being outside the tower to ask her mother to go see the lanterns tomorrow. She had waited far too long.</p><p>While the two fugitives were advancing in the dark, Cassandra asked the clients where her future prisoner was. They only presented her a short guy who clearly was not Flynn Rider. She avoided erupting with fury only thanks to her perfect self-control. She took a second to take a deep breath before addressing the criminals with a cold and controlled anger.</p><p>“Is it some kind of joke? The royal guard is too busy for this, but I guess we haven’t tell you yet that monsters were officially reported in this woods. ”</p><p>The announcement intrigued the entire assembly. Some customers seemed worried while others were on the verge of laughter. The stern face of the warrior woman, with her wrist wrapped in a chain, deterred them as she accomplished her original mission.</p><p>“This unknown bloodthirsty creatures are more dangerous than any other wild beast out there. So, for your own safety, stay as much as possible inside and don’t travel alone until the Crown has more information about this threat… and stop wasting our time. ”</p><p>Each of the robbers at the inn understood how serious Cassandra was and many puzzled looks were exchanged. As she turned her back on them, muffled noises from outside rose in volume before making way for the crash of the front door. In the doorway stood a large, breathless white horse.</p><p>“Maximus?” said Cassandra, quite surprised.</p><p>The horse recognized the captain's daughter and hastened to join her and the guards, with the relief of finally being among his folks.</p><p>"I'm glad you're okay. The captain was wondering where you were? You were looking for Rider, isn’t it? Did you find him? ”</p><p>Maximus remembered that indeed, before fleeing for his life, he had a mission. Shame hung over him and made him drop his ears. His sorry look was a clear answer that saddened the warrior a bit.</p><p>"It's okay," she reassured. “We thought he was there for a moment but…”</p><p>The instant she said those words, the stallion's military reflexes awoke. His developed sense of smell was slapped by an acrid hint which he recognized immediately. He had wandered among the trees for hours to find a trace of it, smelling nothing but the scent of flowers and the lingering odour of blood, and suddenly, Rider's trail was there. Without waiting, under the disoriented looks of the guards and thieves, Maximus plunged his muzzle to the ground and sniffed everywhere, pushing aside all those on his way. He was sure about it and Cassandra, at first intrigued, understood what was happening. She had known Maximus for years and understood what involved his behavior.</p><p>“Wait… He’s actually here?”</p><p>Cassandra glared at the inn’s clients but didn’t have time to express her anger. Maximus drew her attention to a beer tap decorated with a duck. The warrior quickly joined him and discovered a similar motif on the ground. Immediately making the link, she used the wooden lever and triggered the opening of the secret opening. If frustration and discipline hadn't stop her, she would have sported a broad smile.</p><p>“A passage!” she announced before giving her orders. "Come on, let's go. And you, make sure the Stabbington don’t get away! ”</p><p>The soldier to whom she had ordered this, the last one, grabbed his halberd with determination and made sure to have the prisoners close to him. Except that, in an excess of prudence, he had placed himself far too close. The moment the last of his comrades disappeared in the tunnel, when the soldier stared at one of the brothers, the other took the opportunity to knock him out with a strong headbutt. Using the guard's weapon, the Stabbington Brothers broke their chains under the disoriented looks of the other bandits. Each of them knew their reputation and preferred to avoid being on their way. What they wanted didn’t concern them and they had no reason to think that it was related to their little protege. They also let them disappear in the underground gallery, realizing that they had probably made a mistake.</p><p>This scene had worried Mother Gothel, who had observed everything from a broken window. Strangely, she felt some deja vu when she discovered the young black haired woman who was leading the guards. She couldn't remember where she had seen her before. Maybe she had met her in a village a long time ago, during one of her patrols. She was not sure of anything. Besides, she couldn’t see her clearly. As soon as the men in armor arrived, she stood as discreet as possible, hiding behind one of the horses tied to the outside and lifting her hood. The guards, busy looking for their target, had not paid attention to her. But now, things got complicated. She wasn’t the only one looking for that Flynn Rider, and where he was, also was Rapunzel. She had to find out where the tunnel lead and find a way to find her daughter before a disaster happened. Luckily, a source of answers, in the form of a drunk little man, left the inn and stopped near her. Her hand wasted no time in grasping her knife.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
  <p>--- x X x ---</p>
</div><p>Meanwhile, the golden haired girl and Corona's most wanted man were walking through a real underground maze. Each turn offered its share of cobwebs and skeletons with shadows exaggerated by Flynn’s lantern. Nothing here could scare the two fugitives. Rider however led the way with caution to not meet any unpleasant surprise and guide Rapunzel to the exit. She was walking near him with an upright posture and a precise gait illuminated by a broad smile.</p><p>“Well, I’ve got to say, admitted Flynn, I knew from experience you could be impressive, but that was… unexpected.”</p><p>“I know, answered with an embarrassed laugh Rapunzel, and I’m glad it ended well. Truth is I didn’t want to hurt them. I… I don’t like being violent.”</p><p>Flynn wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but he stopped when he saw the girl displaying a look between remorse and relief. He saw her continually going from one extreme to the other, from aggressiveness to pure innocence, with somewhat disturbing speed. However, it brought him more curiosity than fear now. He understood that this zest for life was her true nature actually. He simply did not understand how such a bright light could coexist with such a dark and dangerous side. As they continued on their way, Rapunzel decided to feed her curiosity to get out of her melancholy.</p><p>“So… Flynn, where are you from?”</p><p>The thief did not like to talk about him. However, this time, he hesitated, thinking back to the last time Rapunzel had questioned him. He was not tied to a chair this time. On the other hand, she had more deadly equipments. He couldn't help but look worriedly at her, hesitating to answer. The girl still had a radiant smile, but it started to disappear when she realized that he was afraid of her reaction. She tried to hold it, but could not hide the fact that this situation placed a veil of sadness on her childish face which she turned away, unable to face him.</p><p>“I won’t hurt you if you don’t want to answer me.”</p><p>To his own surprise, Flynn's anxiety dissipated when he discovered how dull she became. He even felt a little guilty for having broken her regained joy so quickly, which the chameleon approved with a frown. He then began to stutter a little in a rush to correct this.</p><p>“I know I know. I just... don’t do backstory. However, I am becoming very interested in yours.”</p><p>The enthusiasm he put in his curiosity, just as sincere as Rapunzel’s, seemed to intrigue the girl and gave her a little happiness back.</p><p>“Now, I know I’m not supposed to mentioned the hair...”</p><p>“No,” she confirmed, while Pascal was giving him a suspicious look.</p><p>“Or the mother…”</p><p>“Except if it can help us.”</p><p>“Frankly I’m too scared to ask about the frog...”</p><p>“Chameleon.”</p><p>“Nuance. Here’s my question though: if you want to see the lanterns so badly, why haven’t you gone before?”</p><p>This question caught Rapunzel off guard. She knew what she could answer: that she never had a good opportunity, that she was too young before ... but she wasn't sure she wanted to say it. All this now sounded like excuses.</p><p>“I guess…” she hesitated before answering. ”I guess I was scared.”</p><p>This particular response surprised Rider after all he had seen.</p><p>“Of what?”</p><p>“Of my mother’s answer. I thought she would say no and didn’t want to hear that.”</p><p>“What about now? I mean, you’ve done half of the way to the city and if you find her, you could ask. Don’t you think? ”</p><p>Rapunzel almost stopped on the spot hearing these words and plunged into an intense reflection. What Flynn said to her was not wrong. She had been planning for weeks to ask her mother to take her see the lantern anyway. Why not try now that she was there? With her staying silent, Rider asked innocently.</p><p>“Are you still scared?”</p><p>Rapunzel thought again. She was about to give him her answer when a small stone fell on her head. Rider and her turned their intrigued glances towards this one and discovered it trembling on the ground with others, as if an earthquake occurred. A terrible roar echoed behind them in the underground gallery and they discovered a light that was approaching very quickly. A few seconds later, a human tide led by the black-haired warrior began to surge towards them, accompanied by a large white horse. Without wasting a moment, Flynn took Rapunzel's hand and drew her into the tunnel, the royal guards on their heels.</p><p>Very quickly, they got out. However, rather than the forest, they discovered a canyon drained by a dam which overhangs them. The fugitives were now standing on the edge of a lithic platform beneath which a dangerous void lay. There was a ladder, even if it didn't seem entirely new, and another tunnel further down below. Flynn saw there a potential escape route. Except that next to it, wood boards condemning another one exploded to reveal two red-haired bandits with angry faces when they spotted the thief and the young girl.</p><p>"Who’s that?" asked Rapunzel.</p><p>"They don’t like me." anwered Flynn.</p><p>They then turned to the gallery they had just left to discover the guard group and their leader, the warrior with a wrist wrapped in a chain, who had drawn his sword and was ready to attack.</p><p>"Who’s that?"</p><p>“Don’t know her, but I’m sure she doesn’t like me either.”</p><p>The powerful stallion with white coat springs up from the cave, his flaming gaze pointed at the thief.</p><p>"Who’s that ?!" insisted the girl, a little overwhelmed.</p><p>“Let’s just assume for the moment that everyone in here doesn’t like me!”</p><p>Rapunzel was starting to boil in frustration again. She clenched her fists and teeth so tight that Flynn wondered if his statement also included her. Refusing to let herself be arrested, and above all to use her weapons against other humans, plus a horse, the girl in pink entrusted her pan to the thief with a sudden gesture. Now that she knew he was a bit armed, she could act as she wanted. She unfolded her bundle of hair and threw it with incredible precision to grab a high wooden beam. When she was certain to be attached, she threw herself into the void, carried by the weight of the impossible weapon in her back, and swayed to the next platform under the half-amused half-admiring gaze of her guide. The latter quickly remembered who was still behind him and faced the iron wall which had targeted him. In particular the warrior woman with short black hair who was seeing him as a chance to prove herself once and for all.</p><p>"I've waited all my life for this," she said.</p><p>Rider replied with a mocking smile, the frying pan firmly seized.</p><p>“Always happy to meet a fan.”</p><p>Cassandra frowned and ordered the three men under her command to arrest him. They threw themselves, weapon in hand, on Rider, without him worrying the least. He knew how to hold the pan, what its balance was and what strength to use. A guard came within range. Flynn took a quick step to the side to dodge his blade and threw his cast-iron weapon at lightning speed toward his face. One guard down. The second saw his sword deflected by a flexible movement of the wrist before the improvised weapon broke his face. Another one down. The third guard acted quickly. His blade hissed at Flynn, but he bent down. The thief swung a metallic uppercut that smashed the guard's chin. All three down.</p><p>"I'm getting quite good with that," proudly declared Flynn.</p><p>He did not have time to enjoy this moment because, in a saving reflex, he parried the sharp blade of Cassandra who had started to attack him, screaming in rage. Rider deflected a second attack and took a large step backwards from it. Cassandra attempted a hit which Flynn narrowly dodged, followed directly by a thrust which he only avoided at the cost of his balance. The iron lady used this opportunity to attack him again and the thief only avoided being injured by parrying with his pan and letting himself be pushed by the force of the blow, this in order to make a roll from which he cleverly got up to end up on his two feet. He didn't know who this woman was, but he had to admit she knew how to fight. However, he was completely flabbergasted when a second sword was pointed at him by the big white horse that held it between his teeth. Maximus and Cassandra then began to jointly attack the bandit who only managed to survive by focusing on dodging and parrying from time to time. Under Rapunzel's worried gaze, Flynn couldn't help but cry out to her.</p><p>“You should know that this is the strangest thing I’ve ever done!”</p><p>The girl in pink had a racing heart beat. Her guide was facing his adversaries with courage and skill, but he could not hold on indefinitely. The stallion was fighting better than they imagined and the iron lady, with undeniable talent. Rapunzel thought she had to help him, but she didn't know how. In a reflex which worried her, she drew her pistol and pointed it in the direction of the fight. She had practiced a lot and knew she could be precise. Perhaps she could disarm one of her guide’s opponents. Except that there, if she missed her shot from a single millimeter, she risked not to injure, but kill someone. Her hand began to tremble as Cassandra managed to scratch Flynn's shirt and Maximus, to push him towards the edge of the platform. Her brain was blocked.</p><p>Flynn continued to dodge, parry, and deflect assaults with all his energy. But even for an outlaw with years of experience like him, a two-on-one fight was not a good situation. He dodged a thrust from Cassandra, then an attack from Maximus, deflected an assault from the Iron Lady, a hit from Maximus then Cassandra succeeded, with a clever gesture of the wrist, to make the pan fly out of his hand and seninto into the void. The scene stood in dead silence. Flynn discovered the two blades of his enemies pointed at his throat. Fear strangled him. Only an attempt to joke managed to get out of it.</p><p>“How about two out of three?”</p><p>A sly smile appeared on Cassandra's face as a hiss began to resonate.</p><p>“Good work, Max. Now you’ll come with… What’s that sound?”</p><p>There was not a cloud in the sky and yet thunder broke out and cast a brief red glow on the canyon. Rapunzel, Flynn, Maximus, Cassandra and the Stabbington Brothers, still below, were at first all disconcerted by this lightning then began to widen their eyes when a mountain of flesh and metal rose on two legs like old trees’ trunks, including one made of pure steel. From his half-open rib cage hung some bright orange guts. There were sharp claws on the big fingers of his right arm and a shapeless metallic mass replaced the other one. The thing turned its head with huge horns, bright eyes and sharp like spears fangs. When his blank gaze fell on the three fighters, each of them had his blood turned to ice, until the monster yelled at them in a titanic voice.</p><p>First paralyzed with fear, everyone reacted in their own way. The first were the Stabbington Brothers. After seeing this disgusting giant coming out of a scarlet flash, they exchanged a disoriented look, before running away in the tunnel they had just left. Flynn was paralyzed with dread. Cassandra took her sword with both hands and faced the thing, even if her gaze betrayed her terror and her ignorance of how to kill this colossal creature. Maximus remained half frozen in place, torn between his survival instinct asking to flee and his flouted honor which refused once again to turn its back on one of these monsters. As for Rapunzel, she was the most terrified of all. All the demons she had fought until now had been on a human scale. Discovering such a giant, such an awful monster, drowned her in a new kind of terror. Its shadow covered her entirely like a volcano on the verge of exploding. She felt smaller than ever. She then reacted as her body had become used to in this kind of situation: as soon as helplessness was felt, pure rage arose from the depths of herself.</p><p>The Tyrant raised his hand to the three frightened warriors in front of him, his big fingers ready to crush them. Maximus and Flynn were about to flee, unlike Cassandra, who seemed ready to fight. Suddenly, a deluge of sparks attacked the creature's face, piercing its skin with dozens of blood-vomiting holes, while thunderclaps invaded the area. The creature raised its clumsy steel arm to protect itself from this deadly rain and turned back to its origin, like its three previous targets. From her platform, Rapunzel was shooting the beast with the Heavy Assault Rifle that his protector had given her.</p><p>This incredible and incomprehensible weapon made Maximus and Cassandra froze in amazement, trapped in this tornado of impossibilities. Flynn then heard the girl in pink calling her. He only got time to turn toward her and he saw her throwing something at him. His hands grasped it and his eyes lit up in amazement when he discovered that he was now holding Rapunzel's pistol. When she understood that her friend was well armed now, she raised her disproportionate weapon and squeezed the trigger to throw a maximum of bullets against the Tyrant. However, the creature didn't seem to be bothered so much by that. Some of them rebounded against the metal and the injuries didn't seem to hurt him that much. The giant pointed his steel arm at her and four beams of light pointed out at the girl, again immobilized by fear and misunderstanding.</p><p>"That can’t be good ..." she suspected.</p><p>The monster was however attacked by another type of projectile. Balls of green light flew up to his face and destabilized him enough for him to stop aiming at Rapunzel and redirect his gaze to the new shooter. Flynn, carried away in his new surge of power and quickly accustomed to this new weapon, shoot without stopping at the creature. Rapunzel took the opportunity to shoot again, while Maximus and Cassandra continued to remain frozen in incomprehension. Annoyed by these two shooters as by two mosquitoes, the Tyrant raised his right arm and made appear from it a huge blade of energy which terrorized his attackers. The monster then made a big gesture which pushed everyone to plunge on the ground to avoid this strange blade which cut up to the stone of the canyon’s walls and a part of the dam.</p><p>To Maximus' dismay, the attack had made collapse the entrance to the tunnel behind him, but also a beam supporting the dam which now bridged his platform from to Rapunzel’s one. As for Cassandra, this saving dodge had the merit of waking her up. She had no intention of being fooled once again by one of these monsters. She heard the voice of the girl in pink who called Rider and discovered her grabbing the hand of the bandit with her disproportionate hair to allow him to throw himself and swing in the void. She didn’t want to lose Rider, but there was a much more important problem for now.</p><p>“Max! Get them! ” she yelled.</p><p>The horse's mind reconnected to his military habits and crossed the beam which joined the next platform. Meanwhile, while Rapunzel finished helping the thief to swing, and eventually crashing into a wooden structure, Cassandra focused on the nightmarish giant. He was not paying attention to her for the moment, he was about to attack with his metallic arm the girl with the magic weapon. With her nimble fingers, despite her thick leather gloves, she untied the hook of the chain hanging from her left wrist and it became a hungry steel snake.</p><p>Cassandra rushed without hesitation to the edge of the platform. She was afraid but refused it. She had sworn to not tremble any more in front of these creatures. Without slowing down, she threw herself into the void. With a large gesture of the arm, she made her chain fly towards the titan. The hook was planted in the monster's cheek. The weight of the iron lady pulled it and caught its attention. The young woman swung, sword in hand, until she reached the back of the giant in which her weapon was planted. This bite caused the Tyrant to growl, after that, he tried to catch her with his large pasty hand while pivoting on himself. However, Cassandra had placed herself right between its shoulder blades. He couldn't reach her. The young woman climbed it with great agility thanks to her long years of training. She found herself on his shoulder and, with perfectly executed acrobatics, ended up on its head, her blade taken in both hands and raised high. Like a raptor swooping on its prey, she plunged her blade between the two eyes of the demon who bellowed in pain.</p><p>However, this jubilant suffering did not leave her time to raise her blade again. The creature moved with so much force that Cassandra lose her balance and avoided a deadly fall only by clinging firmly to her weapon. Facing the beastly face of the Tyrant, the young woman was seized with a new wave of dread. Just like the creatures she had faced before, there was nothing in its eyes. It was just two sickly yellow globes sweating with bloodlust. She spotted the monster's hand rushing towards her in time and put her foot on its jaw. She propelled herself back, weapon in hand, avoiding being caught. With a spin, she launched her chain towards the monster and clung it to its forearm. The trajectory of her swing allowed her to reach the ground without much damage. Except that when she looked up, she discovered the giant ready to crush her under the huge column of steel that was its leg.</p><p>His trampling was nonetheless redirected by a new burst of sparks which swept over its face, giving to Cassandra the possibility to dodge it. When she was safe again, she discovered in the distance, finally arrived on the ground, the girl in pink and her impossible weapon. Rapunzel seemed surprised when the machine stopped firing and when Flynn grabbed her arm to pull her after him, he stopped with a worried face. Cassandra looked up too and discovered the giant raising its metallic arm to the sky. The monster howled and whistling columns gushed from its arm at full speed. None of the fighters needed to think to understand that it was not a good sign. Just like the terrible wooden crack that echoed throughout the canyon.</p><p>Rapunzel and Flynn, who had gave back the pistol to her on the way, started to run again as fast as possible from the beast, just like Cassandra. Then a rain of fire began to fall on them. The Tyrant's missiles exploded everywhere, constellating the canyon with craters and making its targets run amidst the dust, flames and shock waves that made their bones shake and burn their skin. As the dam collapsed under the weight of the water it was holding, one of the missiles crashed into a stone pillar. Each of the humans widened their eyes when they discovered behind them the tsunami which poured out on the monster and would soon take them away. For Flynn and Rapunzel, it was the rock pillar beginning to fall on them that worried them the most. Despite the weight of the Assault Rifle behind her, the young girl arrived with her guide to a cave in which they sheltered. Flynn, hands laden with golden hair, picked up the frying pan before the huge rock blocked the entrance to the cave.</p><p>Rapunzel, Flynn and Pascal were therefore trapped in the small and dark cave which was filling with water at an alarming speed. Without an immediate exit, drowning was assured. Flynn plunged into the liquid darkness and sought a way out, while Rapunzel attacked the walls with her pan. None succeed. Flynn tried, in desperation, to throw himself against the walls and tear off the stones. He only managed to get a cut on his palm. The water was reaching their waist and still no way out. Despite the pain, Flynn dived into the water one last time but was only more disappointed.</p><p>"It’s no use, he explained, I can’t see anything."</p><p>Rapunzel refused this situation. Filled with despair, she plunged in turn but Flynn stopped her.</p><p>“Hey, there's no point. It's pitch-black down there. ”</p><p>The girl's eyes widened as the rage rose inside her. She had almost died because of the monsters several times. She had just escaped from a giant. Yet she found herself once again in danger and unable to act, completely helpless. Rapunzel grabbed her frying pan and struck the stone wall, uttering a terrible scream, before decomposing under the sorry eyes of Pascal and her guide, understanding the sad truth.</p><p>"This is all my fault..." she murmured with sorrow. “You were right, I never should have done this.”</p><p>She wanted to save her mother, when she wouldn't have wanted to put her daughter in danger. She had forced someone to be part of her adventure. She believed she could stand up to these vile creatures. The only result she had in the end was her death and that of her friends. Her heart was suffocating. Tears began to stream from her eyes.</p><p>"I'm so sorry, Flynn."</p><p>When the thief looked at the girl's  face twisted by sadness, he felt confused and remorseful. This unlikely warrior sincerely resented having dragged him into this situation. He didn't want to die with a lie on his conscience. Not with someone who really regretted hurting him.</p><p>“Eugene.”</p><p>“What?” asked Rapunzel, confused.</p><p>“My real name is Eugene Fitzherbert. Someone might as well know. ”</p><p>Rapunzel, at first surprised, was overcome by a wave of gratitude. Rather than yelling at her, Eugene had shared one of his secrets with her. She was all the more angry for having endangered him and felt the duty to share her own.</p><p>“I have magic hair that glows when I sing.”</p><p>Despite all the oddities that happened to him today, the thief's eyes widened in amazement.</p><p>“What?”</p><p>The memory of this peculiarity tickled the mind of Rapunzel, who mechanically repeated what she had just said when she felt hope reborn.</p><p>“I have magic hair that glows when I sing!”</p><p>The water continued to rise. Coming at their throat. Rapunzel began to sing quickly.</p><p>“Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine…”</p><p>The water interrupted the song, but that was enough to change the girl's hair into solar strings who filled the cave with a blinding light. Eugene almost lost all the oxygen in his lungs when he saw this miracle, but his survival instinct managed to preserve enough for him to notice a light stream that drew the strands of light toward a small opening. With the energy of despair, the bandit seizes and spreads all the stones in his way which were blocking the exit. He and Rapunzel were then thrown outside into a young river born from the destruction of the dam.</p><p>The two fugitives and their reptilian companion jumped out of the water to absorb as much oxygen as possible, before collapsing from exhaustion on the shore. Under the weight of his equipment, Rapunzel felt almost ready to let herself pass out on the spot.</p><p>“We made it.” she said, unable to believe it.</p><p>"Her hair glows..." said Eugene with even more disbelief.</p><p>"I'm alive... I'm alive!" pursued Rapunzel, while getting out of the river.</p><p>“First monsters, now her hair glows. What a world we live in…” muttered the bandit to a very understanding Pascal.</p><p>He finally heard the girl calling him as she finished pulling her hair out of the water.</p><p>"It doesn’t just glow." she added.</p><p>Flynn, holding his injured hand, discovered the chameleon with a broad smile.</p><p>“Why is he smiling at me?”</p><p>With all of her hair in hand, Rapunzel told Eugene to follow her with a nod of her head. The bandit also came out of the water and followed her right away. His steps were interrupted when he heard a gurgling noise unusual for a river. An aquatic explosion occurred and the trio backed off as a disgusting mass crashed onto the shore. When the water finished dripping from it, Rapunzel and Eugene discovered the giant monster howling at them despite its ripped flesh and a broken horn. Both dismayed and exhausted, Eugene could not get up to flee. He was partly brought back to reality by Rapunzel who took from the improvised backpack that she had entrusted to him one of the boxes offered by the steel giant. She dropped the one attached to her gigantic weapon, replaced it with the new one and made the Rifle click before pointing it at the creature's head and press the trigger.</p><p>A continuous rain of projectiles hit the face of the monster as Rapunzel screamed as if to accompany and become one with her attack. Her mad scream echoed through the woods. All the surrounding animals fled. A lock of hair wriggled. The monster could no longer react. Eugene backed away in terror. Pascal too. When the Heavy Assault Rifle stopped spitting fire, Rapunzel stopped screaming, out of breath and eyes wide open. From the crushed skull of the monster, only its broken horns remained with a cascade of blood and brains reduced to a pulp.</p><p>The creature's carcass finally remained motionless on the shore, ready to serve as a feast for the scavengers. Rapunzel finished catching her breath before approaching with an imposing step to her friends. Without giving them a look, she got rid of the empty cartridge clip of her Rifle, retrieved a new one from the backpack and reloaded the weapon. Slowed down by exhaustion, the girl put her weapon on her back and resumed her walk towards the forest darkened by the coming night.</p><p>"Let's go guys..." she sighed, her foot heavy.</p><p>Eugene and Pascal exchanged worried looks before following her. The thief couldn't help but take one last look at the colossal corpse before saying, like a prayer.</p><p>“Please tell me that’s the biggest of all of them...”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 14</span>
  </strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>(Bonus)</strong>
</p><p></p><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><p>The waterfalls reflected the blazing light of the sunset and gave meaning to the name of the Fire Falls. A thin mist was rising from the rumbling orange torrents the Princess of DunBroch was admiring. The Crone’s Tooth from which the fire water was flowing was a place she always liked to contemplate. The breathtaking view of these bare hills surrounding a loch as clear as a mirror always soothed her. She regretted that her mother couldn’t accompany her this time.</p><p>Merida did not miss an opportunity to spend time with her, often to gallop in the woods, the wind in her hair, but sometimes simply to talk. However, the affairs of the kingdom couldn’t always wait. Since that curious and terrible adventure that had shaken the entire kingdom a little less than a year ago, she had understood it well. She thus appreciated even more the moments that the queen passed with her. The fact that she did it much more often than before and that she ended up accepting her daughter as she was made the burden of duty much more bearable.</p><p>The princess pushed one of her red curls behind her ear to appreciate the landscape completely one last time. She removed a bit of dust from her emerald-colored dress before sighing with some disappointment, remembering that time was passing. The sun was starting to disappear and she had promised to be back at the castle during daylight. Despite everything, satisfied with the day she had spent training and galloping through the highlands, Merida put on her bow with a brand new string over her shoulder, before getting back on her Angus’ saddle. She took time to reposition the quiver on her belt correctly, so that none of her arrows could fell during her ride, then the princess pulled the reins of her powerful black horse to make him hit the road, entering in the woods. He advanced without problem on the path which zigzagged between the huge trees and their thick roots.</p><p>Merida did not make him move too quickly, however. Giving what awaited her, she wasn’t impatient to go home. The clans were all united again to celebrate an ancient victory. Her mother had explained to her how important it was for her father and the other clan leaders, but she herself suspected, in a mixture of fun and dismay, that it was more like an excuse to drink than anything else. For the princess, the problem came from the presence of the clan leaders’ sons. Everyone agreed to let her choose her husband, and she was delighted about that, but they now they passed all the times of their visits to court her. Merida had nothing against them. They were all good persons, but they were always ridiculous in their methods, becoming a drag sometimes. If she could avoid them a little longer, she wouldn't be unhappy. Despite this, she had peace of mind, because if she was thinking about this, it meant that the kingdom was peaceful.</p><p>Her thoughts were violently interrupted when Angus reared back, neighing. Merida clung firmly to the reins and tried to calm him down as he was frantically stamping. He only did so after she raised her voice. She discovered in the wide open eyes of her steed a panic that she had not seen on him since a long time. She whispered in his ear to sooth him and asked what he was so scared about. The princess followed his gaze and was struck with astonishment. Between the trees, small bluish lights floated in the air. She looked at their flowing, fast flickering motions and felt a smile form on her lips.</p><p>"Don't worry," she reassured with an amazed voice. “They're Will o ’the Wisp. You remember them, right? They..."</p><p>Her words stopped when one of the flying lights suddenly turned red. Her thoughts remained frozen in misunderstanding when it got bigger and bigger. The flame approached at the speed of a raptor, accompanied by a high-pitched scream. A saving reflex made Merida lower herself fast enough to avoid taking the thing in the face. She felt her back burn as if she had been too close to a big fireplace and her heart pounded faster against her chest. The girl discovered that the thing that attacked her was not just made of fire. In the middle of the flying blaze was a human-like skull topped with spiky horns. It was the Princess’s turn to panic.</p><p>When the nightmarish face screamed again, Angus neighed in dread and started galloping. Merida, her mind confused by stupor and fear, could only keep hold of the reins. She had never seen or heard of such a creature, even in the many legends told by her mother. A leap of her horse over a root woke her up enough to look back. The terror increased. The creature was there and it was no longer alone. Two other skulls of fire started chasing them.</p><p>Merida, her face twisted in terror, seized her bow. Whatever these creatures were, she could not remain doing nothing. She tried to grab an arrow in her quiver, but Angus' gallops were shaking her too much. Her fingers pinched nothing. The cry of one of the monsters resounded again and caught her attention. The scarlet skulls were approaching. The archer tried again to grab an arrow, but her hand got lost in the fletchings. She didn't have a single second to lose. She closed her hand on a group of projectiles. She would throw away the excess once out of the quiver. Despite the shaking, she counted three arrows in her hand. She dropped the two extra and hung the notch on the bowstring. The moment Merida pulled on it, everything tumbled.</p><p>A mass collided with her steed and caused the animal to collapse, propelling the young girl away. Her flight made her lose all her points of reference. The shock of landing against solid ground confused her mind and tore parts of her dress. Her body was suffering and her fingers no longer held anything. She went down on her knees, shaking her head to put it in order. What she saw next froze her blood and widened her eyes. A new monster with a purplish-shell-like skin stood in front of Angus, who was trying to get up and keep his assailant at bay. Merida thought she was delirious. She was not easily afraid. She had faced the terrible Mor’Du himself, but even the legendary warrior had an appearance that she could identify: that of a bear. What she had in front of her was unlike anything known. It couldn't exist.</p><p>The thing had two arms and two legs, but it was nothing like a human being. Its arms had four-fingered hands with yellow claws. Its three-toed legs, also clawed, were arched like the legs of a wolf ready to pounce. Its mouth had teeth on a jaw looking more like the mandibles of an insect and, in place of a pair of eyes, the creature had three points of light like blazing coal. She saw no thought in them. Nothing but pure and deadly bestiality. The terror that Angus was living contaminated his rider.</p><p>The agitated claws of the monster left no doubt about its intentions towards the horse. He was only waiting for the right moment, when his wagging hooves would leave it an opening. Merida couldn't let that happen. She frantically searched for her bow and discovered it a little further down the path. The creature's cry gave her a boost that made her jump like a wild cat on her weapon. However, her flight was interrupted when her forehead brutally hit a surface which should not have been there. The girl fell to the ground, her painful head in her hands. When she looked up, she discovered a translucent surface made of blue light between her and the bow. She didn't have time to ask herself a single question because a disgusting growl similar to a sick pig reached her ears.</p><p>Not so far from her, another monstrosity had emerged from the shadows. A monster with an almost human face. Enough to arouse disgust. A paunchy bag of flesh and metal on three iron legs similar to those of a spider. Half of his skull appeared to be covered with a helm adorned with a blood-red eye, and one of his arms was an incomprehensible metal tube. Merida could only move backward, dragging on the ground. This disgusting thing produced other nauseating gurgling and the princess got a new uproar when she felt a shock quite close to her. Another monster had landed: A flesh-colored bat with blades instead of arms. No, it was worse than that. The blades were in its arms, dividing them in half like kitchen knives in a piece of fresh meat.</p><p>Merida stepped back again but found her back to a tree. She looked around her in the hope of finding a way out. She found nothing but despair. To her left, the flying creature waving its mandibles. In front of her, the gruesome horror advanced towards her on her iron limbs. To her right, the three flying fire skulls, currently bluish, looked at her with envy. The entire menagerie of the nightmare realm had been liberated and had chosen her as its prey. The only reason she was still alive was that each of the creatures was yelling at each other to find out who would be the lucky one to feed on her. Out of the corner of her eye, but too paralyzed to react, she perceived the fiery three-eyed monster leaping on Angus, before hearing the flaming heads howl and seeing them turning red.</p><p>A strange uproar occurred and something hit one of the skulls. A shock wave shook Merida to the heart and an icy squeal echoed. Before her lost gaze, the three flaming skulls changed into blocks of ice before dissolving into pathetic hailstones. The girl and all the monstrosities present were destabilized by this witchcraft. Then sharp sounds invaded the forest and a rain of azure spheres poured on the pasty creature who tried to protect himself with his little arms. Overwhelmed by the chaos, Merida could only remain frozen and let her eyes see a huge mass using a root to jump up to the obese monster and crash onto it. A last gurgle sprang from its throat before the new mass spouted a blade from his arm and planted it in its head without hesitation. The mass then raised a gigantic object which it pointed at the nightmarish bat. A lightning bolt shot out and struck the creature who exploded, spilling its blood, bones and organs all around it, including on Merida herself.</p><p>The girl stood motionless for a moment, before managing to accept what was going on. Her heart was racing and her breathing lost its natural rhythm. She waved to get rid of the flabby little entrails which had rain on her, sometimes coughing because the nausea invading her throat. She tried to remove the blood from her dress, face and hair, without success. No matter how she rubbed it, the red liquid refused to leave. It just sprawled all over her. When a very heavy step echoed and a shadow covered her, the princess froze. She slowly raised her gaze and discovered in all its immensity the one who had destroyed the monsters.</p><p>He was clearly a human being, a man to be more exact, but he was huge. Probably more than her father, the king, who was very tall. And unlike the latter, an old fighter with impressive muscles softened by his life as a sovereign, the warrior in front of her was strong and firm like a mountain. His incredible armor seemed impossible to be wear by anyone other than himself because of its thick metal plates. This man was more than a colossus, he was a living fortress that spit lightnings. Merida tried to see his face through his helmet, covered with a curious transparent surface, but his head was turned. He was scanning the area, his magic weapon pointed in front of him. A voice imperceptible for the girl resounded in the helmet of the Doom Slayer.</p><p>"I still detect demonic presence in this forest, declared Vega, but an unknown form of energy is blurring the sensors. I'm going to calibrate. ”</p><p>The Slayer squeezed his Plasma Rifle with frustration. He had seen a Prowler when he attacked this group of demons and it had fled. It couldn't be far away, but this forest offered a lot of hiding places and its many sounds prevented him from spotting the creature by ear. He needed Vega's indications. The only positive aspect was that, from experience, he suspected that his target would return to the Gore Nest who had invoked it. So there would be the demons he was hunting and his main target. Two birds with one stone. His gaze then fell on the only thing he hadn't expect: the red-haired girl he had saved.</p><p>She was visibly terrified. He was not surprised. It didn't really matter to him. What mattered was that she was alive. This situation reminded him of something. A not so distant moment with another young girl. She did not take her eyes off him and remained motionless. He noticed the quiver on her belt, as well as the bow a little further. He understood that she had tried to fight, but failed because of the ambush. It was a pleasant curiosity for him. She was scared to death but had tried to defend herself against the demons. She was braver than many others. A throaty growl caught the attention of the Slayer and Merida. By discovering its origin, the princess felt a new kind of anxiety.</p><p>“Angus!” she yelled, running towards her friend.</p><p>The girl knelt next to the horse lying on the ground and tensed with anxiety. A huge puddle of blood was spreading a little more every second passing. The precious liquid was flowing like waterfalls from horrible wounds made at his throat with claws and fangs. The animal's body was throbbing. His breath was short. His legs were spasmed. His eyes flickered to find hope. Merida's heart was heavy. She didn't know what to do. She hurriedly tore off a piece of her green dress to lean it with all her strength against one of the injuries. But there were a lot more of them and she couldn't even cover completely the one she was pressing.</p><p>“Don't worry Angus,” tried to reassure Merida. “I'm here. Everything will be alright. I’m gonna…"</p><p>Her sentence was interrupted by a deep rale that sprang with a scarlet stream out of his wagging lips from which the reins had been torn away, nowhere to be found. Angus had a slight jolt. His paws moved weakly in the void. His eyes stopped moving. He let out one last breath and remained motionless. Merida's eyes started to fog. They stared at her friend as if stillness was going to get her out of this bad dream.</p><p>"No..." she whispered in a strangled voice. “No no no…”</p><p>Her mind refused this reality. She put her hands on her friend's body, looking for any movement. She found none. The truth crushed her with all its horror. Her friend was dead. The princess gasped with sorrow and a tear formed a clear furrow on her bloody cheek. Her whole being crumbled and the girl collapsed on the corpse of the one who had kept her company for so long, played with her, helped her and ultimately accepted her unconditionally. Her friend would no longer be there for her. As Merida cried, the Slayer was observing her. It was just a horse. But his own brothers of the Night Sentinels were themselves only men. It probably wasn't much different he thought. A new voice was heard in his helmet.</p><p>"We have found the source of the demonic presence," informed Dr. Hayden. “We send you the coordinates. ”</p><p>The princess was shedding tears, sprawled over her deceased friend. She nevertheless perceived the heavy steps of the metal colossus and turned towards him. With a new act of witchcraft, she saw him make his weapon disappear and replace it with a strange iron stick which he made click before rushing at full speed into the forest. His advance was quick and unstoppable. The roots and bushes did not slow him down. He crushed without any problem what was in his way and disappeared in the green labyrinth.</p><p>Merida remained frozen for a while, alongside Angus. She did not understand what was happening and, at the time, she was not really trying to do it. She had lost her best friend and was still in the middle of the woods, covered in blood. She wanted to stay with him. The idea of leaving him at the mercy of scavengers disgusted her. However, she also wanted to go away from here, to go home. In addition to being safe with her family, she could probably ask for help to offer Angus a semblance of a decent burial.</p><p>Despite her legs weakened by all the fear, Merida got up. She followed the path, without taking her eyes off the deceased horse at first. She found her bow at her feet. She picked it up with a weak gesture. She almost wanted to throw it away in fury. Why had it not been more useful? Why had it not help her saving her friend? But she gave it up because she knew why. There were too many of these monsters and they took them by surprise. It wasn’t just that. It was also because she was afraid. She had never faced anything so horrible. She had shaky hands and a confused mind. New tears came to her eyes. Tears of guilt.</p><p>A spectral whisper caught her attention. She jumped backward discovering a blue flame. The girl calmed down when she discovered that it looked innocent and reassuring. This time, it was really a Will o’ the wisp. The little apparition had placed itself right in front of her, in the middle of the pathway and looked at her, muttering in its ethereal voice. Out of the corner of her eye, Merida spotted another one of these spirits. The first disappeared in the air and several others were born a little further. The Will o’ the Wisp thus formed, as at their last appearance, a path of light through the trees, away from the one leading to the castle.</p><p>Merida had a hard time understanding what the little lights were telling her. She couldn't accept it. When she did, she thought it was a bad joke. The Will o’ the wisp guided those to whom they appeared towards their destiny. She had known this for a very long time. Only this time, they were showing her a frightening path that she refused to follow. They showed her the way the unknown warrior had taken. The princess's heart knocked harder against her chest and her blood froze. She didn't want to go into the shadow of this cursed forest. She had no doubt that there were other disgusting monsters eager to devour her. There was even this giant she knew nothing about. No, she didn't want to follow that path.</p><p>However, as she was ready to run, ignoring the spirits, she remembered that these nightmarish creatures were the ones who had killed Angus. She remembered that this warrior had eliminated them without any difficulty or hesitation. Was he chasing other monsters? She looked with her misty eyes on her bloodstained hands. It was the blood of her best friend. The girl felt a strange curiosity rise in her. She wanted to know what this relentless wizard in armor was doing. The Will o’ the Wisp were saying it was her destiny to follow him and they never lied to her. The terror stiffened her like an old rope, but she pulled hard on it and threw herself at full speed into the darkness.</p><p>After a frantic race that took her breath away, Merida found herself in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by gigantic trees. There were no more blue flames. Was it the right place? There was nothing here. Her answer came as quickly as it was frightening when a shrill scream echoed through the wood. Its origin was very close. Just behind a slight relief in front of her. Merida feared the very idea that a monster capable of howling so loud could exist. However, she had decided to not flee. She wouldn't do it now. The young archer hold tightly her bow and climbed the mound. Sounds like thunderclaps resonated, but Merida did not slow down. Once at the top, what she discovered struck her with amazement.</p><p>In the middle of a tree circle, an open space in the vegetation had its ground covered with a huge pool of blood studded with pieces of flesh. At its center stood the warrior-sorcerer, surrounded by corpses and an army of monsters, each more ugly than the other. A bloody skeleton in armor, giants with blades of fire, a spider of flesh and steel... Merida did not doubt the reality of this scene this time, because she couldn’t believe herself capable of imagining such disgusting creatures even in her worst nightmares. And in the middle of this ocean of fangs and claws, a creature caught her eye. A creature with three lights instead of eyes and leather reins stuck on its bony protuberances.</p><p>The Doom Slayer was surrounded by the exploded bodies of four zombies. He had correctly used the grenade on his shoulder cannon. He still had to kill two Imps, a Gargoyle, a Revenant, two Dread Knight, a Prowler and an Arachnotron. In less than a second, the priority targets were decided and the battle started, under the gaze both fascinated and terrorized of the girl he hadn't noticed.</p><p>The Slayer used his flame thrower to ignite the Imps and a Dread Knight. He then jumped up, exchanging his Shotgun for his Heavy Cannon. He then propelled himself towards the Revenant. During his landing, he had time to aim with the rifle's telescopic sight and fired at the Arachnotron’s cannon, exploding it. Once on the ground, facing the skeleton with rocket launchers, the Slayer switched his rifle for the chainsaw in the blink of an eye and decapitated his prey, which barely had time to howl. Only Merida's stupor prevented her from vomiting.</p><p>The warrior dodged a Dread Knight who jumped on him and took his Super Shotgun. He shot at him without hesitation. The blow didn't kill him, but it didn't matter. The Slayer punched him in the face, destabilizing him, and grabbed his shoulder before impaling its skull from below with his blade. He spotted the Gargoyle who was plunging from the air and dodged with one step. Now he was in his back. The Slayer cut the monster in half with a horizontal gesture and kicked the upper part with a strong kick. The princess's eyes had trouble following everything.</p><p>He then changed for his Ballista and spotted the second Dread Knight. He perceived a grenade from the Arachnotron and moved away quickly. The Imps threw fireballs at him, which he avoided. One of the spheres flew in the direction of Merida. She narrowly avoided it but lost her balance and fell from her mound to the bottom of it, on the border of the battlefield. One of the Imp was near the Slayer's target. He pulled out an energy dart that crashed into the Dread Knight before exploding, stunning the target and shredding the Imp. The warrior propelled himself towards it and jumped on the creature to push him to the ground and cut his throat with surgical precision. The young girl was still afraid, but a morbid fascination now prevented her from looking away.</p><p>The Slayer switched his Ballista for the Rocket Launcher. The Prowler run towards him but he stepped away to get closer to the last Imp. He stunned him with a punch before slicing him in half in an unstoppable diagonal gesture. Merida hadn't seen it. She was staring at the monster who had killed her friend. The Arachnotron was running towards the Slayer, but the latter interrupted its charge with a salvo of missiles which spurted liters of blood and exploded the monster's fangs. The princess, bow in hand, could no longer take her eyes off the creature to which Angus' reins were attached. The Slayer threw himself on the spider demon and planted one of its own spiky paws in its eye.</p><p>Only the Prowler remained. The Slayer switched his Rocket Launcher for his Super Shotgun and pointed it at the beast. The creature disappeared but the Slayer knew where it was. He turned around, facing his target again, but just as he was about to pull the trigger, a projectile that was not his was planted into the Prowler's chest. Without hesitation, the Slayer redirected his weapon in the direction from where the attack came for. When he discovered the girl with the red curls and the green dress, a bow in hand, he slowly lowered his rifle. This did not relax Merida, who had jumped with fear when the giant had aimed his magic weapon at her.</p><p>The attention of the two humans was drawn to the growls of the Prowler, who was fooling around to get rid of the arrow he had received. He only managed to break it and almost got used to the pain. As he was about to get up to attack again, the Slayer's leg landed heavily on its arm. Then the second leg crushed the other one. The warrior had to kill him. He intended to do so. He always had his weapon in hand. However, he was simply holding the beast. This time, the situation was a bit different. The Slayer turned his gaze toward the girl. She had shot an arrow at this demon and he thought he knew why. It was her target. She was obviously terrorized. She was not used to killing. Yet, he could clearly see the flame of vengeance burning in the depths of her eyes. It was not up to him to turn it off if she could do it herself. He just waited.</p><p>Merida's mind was stunned. She had actually shot this arrow at this monster. Now she was staring at the giant whose with a steel gaze behind his strange helm. He said nothing. She did not understand what he was expecting. The princess turned to the screaming monster. He was immobilized, but very much alive. It was the beast who had the Angus’ reins. Merida's hand slowly took an arrow out of her quiver and hung it on the string of her bow. It was the one who killed her friend. She grabbed her bow with more strength, her eye on the target. Only this time, it was not a fish or a wooden board. It seemed much more alive than her usual targets. Her hands trembled. She noticed the red on the hand holding her bow. Angus' blood. The beast uttered a throaty scream. A whistle. The beast was dead, an arrow between its three fiery eyes.</p><p>Merida was short of breath. She lowered her bow. Her wide eyes stared at the dead body as if to be certain of the reality of what she had just done. This scene was now a part of her memory forever. She then saw the giant warrior moving away from her and the corpse. He walked with a terrifying tranquility among the dead beasts and a disc of blue light appeared in front of him. Merida could no longer be surprised. She simply saw the Slayer pass through the portal and see it disappear. All that remained was the silence of the forest, a dumbfounded princess and an ignoble mass grave.</p><p>After standing motionless amid the pieces of monsters for a time she couldn't measure, the princess of DunBroch approached the body of the lifeless Prowler and retrieved the reins of Angus. She turned in the direction of the pathway she had left earlier and started walking. She found the road and followed it, her gaze lost. One of her hands was clasping the leather strap of her former steed. The other was holding her bow limply, dragging it and leaving behind her small furrows in the ground. She had nothing in mind on her way home. Nor the fact that night was almost there. Nor what she would say. She was just moving forward, one step at a time, as if she was wandering aimlessly. Her memory was constantly reminding her of everything that happened. The fire. The screams. The blood. The ripped bodies. The tirred skulls. Death.</p><p>When the princess arrived at the castle, the guards at the entrance were initially delighted. Her parents were about to send men to find her. However, they stood silent when they realized that she was in a terrible state. They followed her, asking questions, but she didn't even look at them. She kept dragging her feet, her gaze on the ground. When she reached the door of the throne room, the guards opened it for her. She appeared in the middle of a deafening banquet that her mind ignored. She advanced among the guests. Some people had time to greet her, but everyone who looked at her ended up worrying when she discovered her partly torn dress and the huge red spots she had all over her. At one point, the girl perceived a duet of voices that she recognized. She stopped and two reassuring forms stood before her, taking her by the shoulder.</p><p>“Merida!” one of them called in a worried female voice. "Are you OK?"</p><p>"What happened to you?" asked the other form, more imposing but also alarmed.</p><p>The girl remembered who these shapes and voices were linked to. She recognized her father, the great warrior with a thick beard, and her mother, so strong and reassuring. She understood that she was at home, surrounded by the people she loved. All the sadness, anger and fear she had put aside to get here spilled over her like a cascade of tears and blood. Merida's face twisted. Her hand squeezed the reins of Angus. The other dropped her bow. She collapsed in her mother's arms, screaming in sadness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div>
  <p>
    <span class="u">
      <b>The Tangled Dooms<br/>
Chapter 15</b>
    </span>
  </p>
</div><p><br/>
<br/>
Silence reigned once again in Corona’s forest. An unnatural calm. All life seemed to have gone. The gurgling sound of a newly born river occupied the surroundings. Its waters were scarlet, engorged with disappearing sun rays and blood. The darkness of trees had begun to put a veil on the entire world. Only an owl with bark-colored feathers dared to fly over the area, shortly after the end of the hellish cacophony which had echoed there. The brave raptor flew over the bloody river. His concern grew when he discovered a gigantic mass slumped on the ledge, from which thick red streams were flowing and corrupting the river. It wasn’t moving.<br/>
<br/>
Owl hooted in a mixture of relief and concern as he spotted another form he recognized further away. The bird rushed up to it hopefully and set its little talons in the damp earth, near the slender sword that languished beside it. His black-haired friend was not moving. He approached with a hesitant little leap and nudged the unconscious warrior's head with his own. Panicking a bit, the girl awoke, taking in as much air as possible and her eyes wide. This fear full of life relieved the raptor.<br/>
<br/>
Cassandra finished catching her breath as she lay down on the shore, her eyes looking at the sky. Bit by bit, the whirlwind of her thoughts calmed down. Once again, she had almost died. Relief relaxed her whole body as Owl stroked her cheek. With a distracted hand, Cassandra returned his caress and her thoughts calmly returned to the memory of the battle. Anger made her blood boil and grit her teeth at first. Twice she had faced nightmarish monsters and again she had survived by a lucky fluke. The first time thanks to the mysterious iron giant and now because of the dam damaged in the chaos of the battle. She had not won. It wasn’t a victory for her. Her fists trembled before smashing the ground.<br/>
<br/>
Her rage subsided when her memory brought back the presence of Flynn Rider. Cassandra stood up and looked at the area quickly. The shadows of the trees had thickened and the night would soon cover everything. She couldn't defeat the horned giant, but she could still bring back the one who stole the crown. She had to bring him back. Cassandra refused to have one more failure on her mind. He couldn't be so far. At least she hoped so. The warrior then remembered that he was accompanied by a curious young girl with a strange weapon, not unlike those of the steel giant. She also remembered her golden hair. She supposed she was more shaken than she thought because she remembered them as gigantic. It took a moment for her to accept that it was a reality. Who could let their hair grow like this?<br/>
<br/>
It didn’t matter, Cassandra thought. She had to find Rider and if he was with this girl, maybe he had been slowed down. Owl perched on her shoulder as she retrieved her sword, which she took with a firm grip. The raptor then attracted the attention of his mistress toward the red river’s upstream. Intrigued, but confident in her partner, Cassandra moved in that direction. Her walk was abruptly interrupted by a grip on her wrist. At first worried, the young woman discovered that she had simply forgotten the chain that she herself had attached to her arm. The hook had caught on a rock and she quickly dislodged it before wrapping the steel links and hook around her forearm. It didn't take long for her to find the giant corpse of the monster. His sight had reflexively put her in a fighting stance, but only for a short time. She soon noticed the absence of the corpse's head and the pool of blood and bone formed by a half-dried waterfall flowing from his open neck, framed by two broken horns. The warrior then noticed the cohort of flies circling around it and she almost jumped when a pair of ravens raced skyward as she approached, not without releasing an angry crackle.<br/>
<br/>
Despite that, the young woman approached the scavenger's feast cautiously. Her former opponent had become a heap of rotting flesh. What should have been a relief was rather a source of curiosity. How did he die? Had he been crushed against the rocks by the power of the water that flowed over him? A ringing caught the warrior's attention. Her foot had struck against a small golden object that reflected one of the last rays of sunlight. Cassandra dropped to her knees and took with careful delicacy what looked like a hollow metal cylinder. Something stroked her nose and curiosity made her smell the object more closely. The scent that emanated from it was like sharp sand to her nostrils and made her wince in pain. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that this cylinder was not the only one. Dozens more littered the ground like golden stars on a crimson sky. She didn't understand how these little pieces, barely larger than her finger, were linked to the monster's death, but her intuition clearly whispered to her that they were. Someone had used these unknown objects to kill her enemy.<br/>
<br/>
Leaping off her shoulder, Owl drew her attention to something on the floor a little further into the woods: footprints. If she hadn’t been so angry and impatient, she would have congratulated her partner. Unable to wait, the warrior rushed into the shadows at full speed to follow the trail of her prey, determined to bring it back at all costs and eliminate everything between her and Ryder.</p>
<hr/><p><br/>
<br/>
Eugene was very worried. The girl in pink he had helped the whole day, just a few minutes earlier, had reduced to boiled meat in bestial rage a monster as large as a tower with an unknown weapon making thunderous noise. Shortly before that, her oversized hair had started to shine like the sun, and now he was with that same hair wrapped around his injured hand. Rapunzel finished winding the gold threads with a delicate gesture and a peaceful gaze, as if plunged into a habit finally regained. The thief wanted to tell her that she was strangely cryptic, but after the day he had been through, he was getting used to stange.<br/>
<br/>
Sitting on a large root and lit by the orange glow of a campfire, the only barrier against nightfall, Pascal observed the scene with controlled impatience, but clearly enthusiastic. He had sat quietly in the grass, refusing to come close to the horrible metal weapons Rapunzel had placed against the root, leaving her pan on the ground. The reptile had a slight sadistic glee as the patient let out a sneer of pain.<br/>
<br/>
"Sorry," Rapunzel apologized with a small smile before asking. “Just… Don’t freak out. Okay? ”<br/>
<br/>
Eugene did not know what to answer. The young girl considered his silence for an agreement and began, with her angelic voice and to Pascal's greatest pleasure, her song.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Flower, gleam and glow<br/>
Let your power shine<br/>
Make the clock reverse<br/>
Bring back what once was mine</em><br/>
<br/>
The long hair of the girl in pink lit up, bathing the group in a warm sea of gold. As Pascal savored the moment, Eugene's eyes widened.<br/>
<br/>
<em>Heal what has been hurt<br/>
Change the Fates' design<br/>
Save what has been lost<br/>
Bring back what once was mine<br/>
What once was mine</em><br/>
<br/>
As the song ended, the light faded, leaving in the discreet lighting of the fire a happy chameleon, a quiet Rapunzel, and a stunned Eugene. The latter mechanically removed the wicks around his palm to discover that his wound and the pain had disappeared, blown out like a candle’s flame. His wide, fish-like eyes stared at his palm, where a long gash was supposed to be. His skin was just as white as it was when he was born. His face stood frozen like a statue. A long silence ensued, dotted with the crackles of fire, for so long that it became embarrassing. Eugene's frozen fish figure intrigued Rapunzel as much as Pascal, who exchanged curious looks.<br/>
<br/>
“Um… Are you okay?” the young girl gently tried.<br/>
<br/>
“Yes!” the thief reacted, as if woken up by surprise. "I ... I just don’t know if I should panic after discovering another unbelievable thing that destroys my certitudes about reality or be reassured that there’s something to heal me if I’m attacked by these monsters again."<br/>
<br/>
“I vote for the second option.” Rapunzel offered cautiously.<br/>
<br/>
“Right!” the young man agreed, tensed and full of an energy he didn't know what to do with. “No reason to freak out! None at all. That’s just very VERY interesting hair with magical qualities. How long has it been doing that? ”<br/>
<br/>
Eugene's strained smile and tensed posture, to the young girl's surprise, reassured her. Her guide's attempt to avoid panicking was quite amusing. She let out a small laugh and smiled at him.<br/>
<br/>
“Forever, I guess.” She explained with a reassuring calm “Mother said when I was a baby people tried to cut it. They wanted to take it for themselves. ” Rapunzel, continuing in a steady but sad tone, raised her golden hair to reveal a hidden strand. “But, once it's cut. It turns brown, and loses its power. A gift like that, it has to be protected. That's why Mother never let me out. That’s why I never left the tower. ”<br/>
<br/>
Eugene was immersed in a mixture of curiosity and admiration. He had felt how hard talking about it was for her. She had probably never told anyone this before. Yet she had done it without hesitation, in a clear voice filled with courage that impressed the thief. However, her words couldn't hide her heavy gaze looking down to the ground. Eugene had already seen people talk about their homes with joy, anger or nostalgia. He didn't see any of this in Rapunzel’s eyes. He couldn't quite identify what she was feeling, which prompted a question he hesitated to ask.<br/>
<br/>
“Do you… want to go back?”<br/>
<br/>
The young girl raised her unreadable eyes to him. The thief wondered if he had made a mistake, but she didn't seem angry. She became thoughtful for a few seconds, while Pascal put a compassionate paw on her bare foot. The young girl with the torn dress sighed a great blow which revealed a deep exhaustion.<br/>
<br/>
“I don’t know.” she admitted wearily. “I have spent my entire life hearing my mom telling how dangerous the outside world is. And after what’s been going on lately, I should think she was right, run away and lock myself in my house… ”<br/>
<br/>
“Reasonable.” murmured Eugene.<br/>
<br/>
“But now that I'm here, I can also see for myself all the beautiful things that are outside. I can even, for the first time, hope to see the lanterns. It’s been my dream since I was a child. And then, like I said, I can't leave my mother like this, at the mercy of these creatures. Especially since I have something to fight... "<br/>
<br/>
She paused and turned slowly to the two terrible and mysterious objects lying beside her like soldiers standing at attention. Her body tensed and Eugene thought he saw her recoil at the sight of the little green flame throwing tool and the gigantic lightning-breathing object. Rapunzel stared at them for a moment with a fear that surprised the thief. The one who had stood up to monsters and bandits with some frightening strength seemed, for the first time, of a porcelain like fragility.<br/>
<br/>
“What’s wrong?” he asked, genuinely worried.<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel remained silent for a moment, without raising her eyes, drowned in her thoughts.<br/>
<br/>
"When I have these weapons in my hand... How shall I say? I feel… powerful.” she explained without joy. Eugene refrained from making an amused and understanding comment, having himself had one of these in hand. “I feel like I can eliminate anything that scares me, anything that opposes me, but when it happens, everything starts to get confused. I get angry and ready to attack. I thought it was normal, maybe even a good thing, but I still pointed these deadly devices with no hesitation at these bandits and... at you. "<br/>
<br/>
Eugene felt a bit scared when he remembered this moment. He had been close to death several times in his life, but he had never felt like he had come so close as the day Rapunzel pointed that thing at his head. Yet, the mysterious young woman who had frightened him so much was now on the verge of tears.<br/>
<br/>
“I'm not like that normally. I swear." she continued in a trembling voice, her gaze fixed on her hands like on two unknown objects. “I like to sing, dance, paint… I… I don't understand what happened to me… and I don't like what I'm becoming. It scares me. ”<br/>
<br/>
The thief was puzzled. Rapunzel looked ready to cry and, to his own surprise, he understood her. Her words brought back difficult memories that he never thought he would share. The words were stuck in his throat, but he knew that lost and terrified gaze. Seeing her rekindled an old pain that gripped his heart. He felt the need to take a deep breath before telling his own story, not daring to look her in the eyes either.<br/>
<br/>
“You know, when I started my life as a criminal, I was only stealing little things. An apple here, a purse there… Nothing exceptional, but enough to survive. Sometimes, I would act with the help of a friend, but one day other bandits came to me and offered to join forces to attack a convoy. They said we were the same and that together we would make a good team. It was a big job, with a lot of money at stake. Very much. Enough to buy me an island and even build a castle on it. More money than I could imagine. Except that their plan was to attack the convoy and kill everyone, to leave no witnesses and take everything without any complications. I didn’t want to do that. They were not too happy about my opinion you guess. So they tried to ... murder me. To be sure no one would stop them. I barely made it out, but I managed to incapacitate them. I called some guards and got out of town quickly.” Eugene huffed, tired by his story. “I had the feeling that if I did that, I would have crossed some line. The kind I didn’t want to cross, but it wasn’t easy at all. when they told me how much there was to get, I thought about everything I could do with so much gold and after that I wouldn't have to risk my life for a few coins. I told myself that I deserved it ... But I couldn’t. I also thought about how I would have felt, and that I would have lived with that feeling forever. Since that day, I always think carefully about my plans to never have this kind of temptation again. And when that happens, even a little bit, I think about how I would feel if I gave in. I don’t… regret stealing, but I don’t want to be a murderer.”<br/>
<br/>
Eugene couldn't talk more. Remembering that feeling tired him almost as much as the day he'd been through. He didn't dare look up. He redirected his eyes nonetheless, feeling something on his arm. He discovered the slender hand of the girl in pink resting on it. He followed her arm until he came to her face, which was giving him a slight smile accompanied by a look filled with a mixture of compassion and gratitude. Unsure of how to react, Eugene remained silent. Rapunzel declared in a soft but intractable voice.<br/>
<br/>
"It means you are a good person."<br/>
<br/>
Pascal nodded his little head while the thief, who was beginning to have trouble not staring into the young girl's two emerald eyes, felt a little blush. Embarrassment, as if by reflex, made him try to improve the atmosphere.<br/>
<br/>
“There’s a lot of wanted notice declaring the opposite.”<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel chuckled before responding with an amused and sly look.<br/>
<br/>
“About Flynn Rider, but I’m more interested in… Eugene Fitzherbert.”<br/>
<br/>
It was the young man's turn to laugh. He had forgotten this little detail.<br/>
<br/>
“Yeah, right,” he said. "Well, I already told you something depressing so I don’t think you want to hear the sad story of the Eugene orphan."<br/>
<br/>
The young girl's response was simply to approach him, patiently awaiting his new tale. In a gentle way, she again seemed to leave him no choice but to give her what she wanted. Intrigued and a bit amused, he did so, happily this time. He told her about his passion for the adventures of Flynnigan Rider, the rich and dashing swashbuckler from the book he read to the other children of the orphanage. The young girl understood in the enthusiasm he put into this story how much it was important to him. She listened carefully to him explaining how exhilarating imagining this kind of life was for a child with nothing. The half-joke he then made about the secret of this story to protect his reputation amused her a lot, until again they ended up eye to eye, very close to one another. A long, pleasant but embarrassing silence fell once again on them. Rapunzel's hand was still on Eugene's arm. The thief flees once again from the situation by jumping from the root on which they were sitting.<br/>
<br/>
“I should bring more firewood I think.” he said awkwardly before walking toward the darkness of the woods.<br/>
<br/>
“Hey!” Rapunzel called out, stopping his steps. “For the record, I like Eugene Fitzherbert much better than Flynn Rider.”<br/>
<br/>
Caught off guard, and deeply touched, Eugene responded in the most relaxed manner possible.<br/>
<br/>
“Then you would be the first, but thank you.”<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel gave him a new smile as he resumed his walk towards the woods, as a hooded and dark form began to emerge from the shadows, ready to leap like a beast on Rapunzel. However, the instant Eugene was about to disappear, a hiss followed by a long blade was in front of his throat, stopping him.<br/>
<br/>
“How lovely.” said a voice mixing sarcasm and anger.<br/>
<br/>
Rapunzel jumped from the root, as the hooded figure hurried away into the shadows. In a flash, the iron lady who threatened Eugene put him in an arm lock and stood behind him, the blade still under his throat and her hostage between her and the girl with the golden hair. It only took a second for Rapunzel to pick up and point her handgun at Cassandra. Each had a fiery gaze.<br/>
<br/>
“Put this down!” the warrior ordered vehemently.<br/>
<br/>
“No,” Rapunzel replied with sharp calm, “you let him go.”<br/>
<br/>
“I vote for the second option,” Eugene hissed in a very tensed voice.<br/>
<br/>
"Silence!" Cassandra growled.<br/>
<br/>
Under the distraught gaze of Mother Gothel, hidden in the shadows behind a tree, the two women stared at each other with a rage that worried Eugene as much as Pascal. Their pupils spat lightning bolts and their faces contorted in fury. None intended to lower their weapons. None intended to give up.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div>
  <p>
    <span class="u">
      <b>The Tangled Dooms</b>
    </span>
  </p>
  <p>
    <span class="u">
      <b>Chapter 16</b>
    </span>
  </p>
</div><p><br/><br/><br/>Nothing was going as planned. It should have been simple: wait for Rider to walk away, talk to Rapunzel like the good mum, if it doesn’t work, like the strict mum, and in the worst case, instill doubt using the crown. Everything was perfectly prepared. However, Gothel found herself forced to hide in the shadow because of this dark-haired young woman who had taken the thief hostage. Hiding behind a tree, she clenched her teeth to keep herself from acting impulsively. She didn't know who this newcomer was, or why she was tickling her memory, or even what was that object Rapunzel was helding in her hand and pointing at the warrior. What she understood very well, however, was that the situation could end badly at any moment. Rapunzel as much as the stranger had an expression of fury plastered on her face. A curiosity Gothel had never seen with her daughter. The girl with hair like a golden waterfall she had seen growing up, so pure and jovial, now had wolf’s eyes. And the person who opposed her by threatening Rider had the same kind of expression.<br/><br/>“I’m asking you one last time,” Rapunzel said with an implacable voice, “let my friend go right now!”<br/><br/>“Don't count on it,” the enraged warrior replied, pressing her blade a little more against the thief’s throat, which she was holding with an arm lock. "You are the one who is going to drop... whatever you have in your hand and follow me."<br/><br/>To Gothel's surprise, her daughter frowned even more. Her free fist clenched so hard that the girl's arm was shaking. Whatever powerful and terrible emotion was in her, it was harder and harder to control it. Rapunzel had no intention of complying, and neither would the swordswoman. Flynn could see it too, thanks to the coldness of the steel on his throat. Reflexively, he looked for a way out of this mess, but without success. The grasp of the guard was firm and her sword perfectly sharp. The chameleon was hidden behind Rapunzel. There were no useful items at hand. However, he had to do something as quickly as possible. He knew Goldie wanted to help him, but he could see that she was confused. The anger and the power of her weapon was clouding her judgment. If he did nothing, she might explode with rage and cause an incident in which he would very likely be the victim. He also understood that if he wasn't dead, it was simply because the warrior wanted to bring him back alive. This should have reassured him, but in reality it was lengthening this unbearable situation and bringing it closer and closer to disaster. Rapunzel was holding her weapon with more strength. The guard slid the edge of her blade gently over his skin. The barrel of the magic weapon reoriented to aim a bit more in the general direction of his face.<br/><br/>“Ladies!” hastily called out the hostage. The attention of the two warriors was fixed on him. “I know I'm not in a position to ask for anything, but if we could just relax a bit and chat, that would be great.”<br/><br/>“You're right,” said the dark haired girl, twisting his arm a little more, “you're not in position to ask for anything.”<br/><br/>“I had to try,” Flynn muttered with a grimace of pain.<br/><br/>“Stop it!” commanded the girl with the pink dress. "If you don't let him go right now, I swear I shoot."<br/><br/>"Please Rapunzel, let's avoid..."<br/><br/>“Shut up Eugène! I'm trying to ... "<br/><br/>The girl with the golden hair paused. Her face changed from rage to amazement. At the moment she had screamed, her hand had unconsciously swiveled and pointed her weapon at her friend's face. Dread froze her blood. In that direction, it would have needed a small movement of her thin, delicate finger to make her friend's head explode. For a brief moment, Eugene had not been a human being, but a target confusing her thoughts. She also saw a fear in his eyes that she now knew all too well, for he had understood where she was pointing her instrument of death at. She was doing it again.<br/><br/>Rapunzel hurriedly reoriented the pistol to the black haired warrior, but she didn't look the same anymore. Freed from the influence of her weapon, she no longer saw the enemy threatening someone, but the woman who was holding back her friend. Her enraged gaze was framing hazel eyes filled with anger and a cloud of fear. Eyes that would explode if she pulled the trigger. She didn't want to do this. She had threatened the bandits, now she was threatening a stranger and she was threatening her own friend. She couldn't let this situation get worse, but she couldn't let this stranger take Eugene away either. She didn't know what to do anymore. Rapunzel felt Pascal on her shoulder. His little squeaks close to her ear calmed her mind. She took a deep breath. Then breathed out. Her hand softened its grip on the weapon.<br/><br/>"Listen," she said with a calm that reassured Eugene and puzzled the warrior, "just tell us what you want."<br/><br/>The lady with the sword did not relax. Her eyes replaced some of its anger with curiosity. On her guard, she responded with uncompromising severity.<br/><br/>“Flynn Rider is wanted for having stolen the Crown of the Princess of Corona, among other things. As a guard of the kingdom, my duty is to arrest him and bring him back for trial."<br/><br/>Rapunzel wasn't surprised. The crown and the wanted poster in the satchel left in the tower had made it clear to her that Eugene was a criminal. The warrior had arrived at the inn with armed men. It all made sense. Including for the one who was spying on the conversation hidden by a darkened oak.<br/><br/>“Alright,” Rapunzel sighed, more stable now that things were clearer. "My friend has definitely done something wrong, but I need him to find my mother. She's lost in those woods full of monsters, and he's the only person I know who can guide me. "<br/><br/>This sentence surprised the mother hidden in the shadows. She hadn't understood what could have made Rapunzel go out of the tower with a criminal. This discovery was not so bad actually. She simply would have to wait for the right moment to appear and, delighted to meet again, they would go back there without problem. Rapunzel asked like a hardly admitted plea.<br/><br/>’Is there any way you can let us go, please?”<br/><br/>“Come on. She’s asking politely… ”Eugene insisted, before feeling the blade pressed against his throat.<br/><br/>“No way,” the warrior replied. “Rider has to answer for his crimes and the crown must be returned. Besides, there is nothing proving to me that you are telling the truth. You could very well be his accomplice and be lying to me. ”<br/><br/>A spike of frustration ran through Rapunzel's tensed muscles. However, she did her best to keep her breath in check and stay in control.<br/><br/>“I understand,” she admitted, “you have no reason to believe me. But I have nothing else to give you but my word. Before today, I did not know this man. The truth is... I’m blackmailing him to help me. "<br/><br/>These words had difficulty coming out from the mouth of the girl with the golden hair. The guard had felt it, just like Eugene. A mixture of shame and remorse clouded her voice. The thief understood that she was not quite proud of what she had done. The warrior, refusing to let her guard down, just asked for an explanation.<br/><br/>"What do you mean?"<br/><br/>"He came into my house to escape from these monsters and I took his satchel, along with the crown, promising to return it only if he helped me bring my mother back."<br/><br/>“Not a very honorable method to ask for help,” the warrior noted suspiciously. “Why didn't you just ask the guards?”<br/><br/>"It's a long story. My mother and I live apart from the world. I have never met or even had permission to speak to anyone outside of our home. "<br/><br/>“A very convenient story.”<br/><br/>The warrior stared at the blond girl for a moment. She searched in her eyes for any sign of a lie or hesitation. However, her own eyes fell on the strange object in her hand, then on the huge block of metal lying next to her, against a root. During the battle in the canyon, she hadn't had time to think about it, but these weapons were really weird. In fact, they reminded her of something. The dark haired woman was sure she had never seen anything like it in her life. However, a feeling of déjà vu was tormenting her. She remembered the thundering noises made by the devastating artefact earlier and knew what these things reminded her of. She had to be sure.<br/><br/>“What about those weird weapons?” she asked. "Are you going to tell me that you made them yourself?"<br/><br/>The question didn't trouble the golden haired girl, but it intrigued Gothel.<br/><br/>“No,” Rapunzel replied without hesitation. "Believe it or not, but a stranger gave them to me to let me defend myself against the monsters."<br/><br/>“What kind of stranger?”<br/><br/>"Why does it matter?"<br/><br/>“Just answer.” the warrior insisted without violence.<br/><br/>It was Eugene's turn to be intrigued by the discussion. The cold blade resting on his throat still bothered him, but he was sure he had caught a strange intensity in the voice of the one who had taken him hostage. He wasn't sure if Blondie had noticed it too, but she answered her.<br/><br/>“A man in armor. A mute giant who slays these horrible monsters with impossible weapons and colossal strength. Why?"<br/><br/>As she described her terrifying savior, the black-haired woman's eyes widened. The more they grew, the more they filled with astonishment. Rapunzel, whose gaze did the same, didn't need to hear an answer.<br/><br/>"You know him?" she said, but it wasn’t really a question.<br/><br/>The warrior stood silent for a long time. At first worried, Eugene was pleasantly surprised when he felt that the arm lock she was giving him was losing its strength. The sword lowered a few inches. Just like Rapunzel's arm.<br/><br/>"Who is he?" asked the astonished guard.<br/><br/>"I do not know."<br/><br/>“Don't lie to me!”<br/><br/>"I am not."<br/><br/>“So tell me everything you know about this guy. How did you meet him, for example? "<br/><br/>The question, once again, captivated those who were witnessing this strange discussion. Though hesitant, the golden-haired girl, as if delivered from an awful weight, told her first encounter with the steel giant. Her voice trembled sometimes and her eyes, after a while, didn't even focus on her interlocutor. As she described the lightnings, blood and terror, Rapunzel seemed to lose herself in her memories. The stream of her words trembled, tensed, rumbled and sometimes even whispered in sadness. When she finished talking about the monsters and the violence with which the armored killer took them down, the girl in the torn dress looked up to find the guard captivated.<br/><br/>Eugene felt that with a little strength he could have freed himself from her grip, but his instinct whispered to him not to try that, to wait a bit more. He too could attest how difficult it had been for Rapunzel to tell her story. Gothel, from her hiding place in darkness, found it hard to believe that she could have missed so much in just a few days. When she would get rid of the thief, and this strange swordswoman who tortured her memory, she would change things to never lose sight of her daughter again. Rapunzel realized that the warrior lady herself seemed lost in her own musings.<br/><br/>"And you?" she asked. "How did you meet him?"<br/><br/>The guard didn't know how to react. She still had no guarantee that the giant haired girl wasn't lying to her, but everything she said seemed to fit what she saw with the monster slayer. Moreover, the details of her story and her expressions seemed too precise and sincere to believe they were false. The guard didn't want to tell her own. She was embarrassed by what happened and she had no intention of sharing the details with anyone except her father. However, her interlocutor had shared all the moments of her experience, even the most terrible. Carried away by an unexpected kind of debt, the warrior recounted her own adventure, battle, efforts, pain, failure and finally, her rescue. When she was done, neither she nor Rapunzel knew what to do. The situation was the same as before, and yet everything seemed different. A curious bond seemed to bind the two women. They both felt it. Under the surprised gaze of the dark haired lady, Rapunzel lowered her gun.<br/><br/>“Um… Blondie?” Eugene worried.<br/><br/>“This is wrong.” Rapunzel said in a lost voice, ignoring both Eugene and the guard. “There are these vile monsters threatening us all. We shouldn't be fighting each other. ”<br/><br/>The warrior was a bit troubled. Her body was tensed, to the point of pushing her sword against the thief's neck. Her duty was telling her one thing, but she realized that it was actually her own pride. Her memory reminded her of what she had said and seen when she warned the rulers of Corona. She finally sighed and loosened her grip a little.<br/><br/>"It is true that the king ..." she hesitated to say, with a weary voice. ”The king seemed to think that these monsters are the real priority. But what am I supposed to do? Let this bandit go on because he's with you? "<br/><br/>“I don't have a problem with this,” Eugene clarified, before being silenced by the threat of the sword.<br/><br/>Rapunzel thoughts as quickly as possible. She understood the dilemma their situation posed to the swordswoman now. She didn't know what the correct answer was. Eugene had indeed stolen this crown, but he had also become her friend. He had even fought by her side despite the terror the monsters caused him. And after what he had told her, she didn't feel like he deserved to go to jail. This story seemed so insignificant to her compared to the threat posed to this kingdom and the innocent people who lived there. The warrior told about a frightened child. Without her help, she would have been slaughtered by the creatures. And if what the guard said was true, she wouldn't have been their last victim. And right now, Rapunzel and the guard were fighting each other. All this angst because of some jewelry? The blond girl finally had an idea when her eyes fell again on the weapon in her hand. She didn't know if she should be proud of it, but it was worth trying.<br/><br/>“I have a suggestion,” she said to the warrior. “Eugene, or Flynn Rider as you call him, doesn't know where the crown is right now.”<br/><br/>“I confirm,” added the said thief.<br/><br/>“I, on the other hand, know where it is. If you promise me to not arrest my friend, I will give it back to you. ”<br/><br/>"What?!" the guard and the thief exclaimed at the same time.<br/><br/>“I don't care about that crown,” Rapunzel explained. "All I want is to find my mother and go home, but I also refuse to abandon my friend."<br/><br/>This sentence shocked the thief even more than the girl's offer.<br/><br/>“If you don’t put him to jail, not only will I give you this shiny bauble back, but I also…”<br/><br/>Rapunzel's words stood stuck in her throat. The warrior, the thief and her mother hiding in the shadows were quietly listening.<br/><br/>“I also promise to help you fight these monsters.”<br/><br/>No one dared to believe what they had just heard. The guard was surprised. Eugene, shocked. Gothel, appalled. This one had to make a huge effort to not jump out from her hiding place.<br/><br/>"Are you serious?" the guard asked incredulously.<br/><br/>Rapunzel needed a moment to breathe before answering.<br/><br/>"Absolutely. You and I know what these creatures are capable of. If they are such a threat, we cannot continue to fight like this. I… I can't sit back and do nothing. I should help and protect these people who cannot defend themselves. Just like this stranger. Just like you."<br/><br/>This remark surprised the guard. The golden-haired girl was not only right, she recognized the merit of her actions. It was new to the swordswoman and very strange that the first to tell her this was a stranger coming out of nowhere. Her gaze shifted to the weapon Rapunzel had in her hand, then to the one behind her. These items belonged to the monster slayer who got rid of his opponents with incredible ease. Who knows what they were capable of? These overpowering artifacts would be a major asset in defending the kingdom and its people. Her duty was telling her how essential it was. The warrior grit her teeth in frustration. Could she really ignore this criminal wanted in different kingdoms for that. Her duty silently whispered the terrible answer to her.<br/><br/>“It's… worth considering,” the guard sighed. “But I need guarantees. How can I be sure you're not manipulating me? If I let Rider go, you will be two and armed against me. What would stop you from leaving? "<br/><br/>“Nothing, I guess,” Rapunzel admitted. "What do you suggest?"<br/><br/>"Do I have a say this time?" asked Eugene feverishly.<br/><br/>“No,” the guard informed.<br/><br/>"I knew it."<br/><br/>The warrior took a moment to think. A reasonable idea, but still risky, came to mind.<br/><br/>“I'll bring you to town. Once there, I will ask a guard to call the captain of the guard. He'll be watching Rider while we bring back the crown together. And when we get it back, together, we'll let him go while you stay to keep your promise. ”<br/><br/>“I have to argue there,” the thief declared. “The captain doesn’t like me very much and I’m not sure he would approve this deal.”<br/><br/>The guard silenced her hostage by threatening him with her blade, but Rapunzel wasted no time in declaring.<br/><br/>"He is right. I could have your word but the captain would have no obligation to respect this deal."<br/><br/>“The captain is a man of honor,” the warrior insisted.<br/><br/>“A man of honor that I never met.” Rapunzel thought again before coming up with a new crazy idea. “I want to see one of your sovereigns.”<br/><br/>"Excuse me?" the warrior exclaimed, while Gothel tensed in the darkness.<br/><br/>“You heard me. I want the supervisor of our deal to be your king or queen.”<br/><br/>“You're asking a lot, now. And what would that change? "<br/><br/>“If it’s one of your rulers who promises to let my friend go, your captain will have to obey. And if neither keeps their promise... If neither has enough honor for it. You can forget my help and…” Rapunzel held her pistol with more strength and intensified her gaze. "Be certain that I won't go alone."<br/><br/>This threat was as disturbing as it was annoying for the guard. Eugene was stunned by what he heard. Not only was the one who had plunged him in this crazy adventure taking risks to help him, but she was also ready to fight for him. It was strange, but not unpleasant. The warrior, on the other hand, was not particularly thrilled. However, she understood that given the current situation, she could not hope for a better deal. If she tried to leave with Rider, she risked being attacked with magical weapons capable of blowing up monsters. If she left without him, she would lose not only a wanted bandit, but also the crown and an invaluable help against the monsters attacking the kingdom, as well as a chance, albeit slim, to learn more about this strange warrior who had saved him. There was a lot of uncertainty in what the giant-haired girl was offering, but those two facts were enough to make the swordswoman doubt. She didn't have a lot of other options.<br/><br/>“You promise me Rider won't run away?”<br/><br/>"I promise. Right, Eugene? "<br/><br/>"Oh! I have my say now? "<br/><br/>The thief expected Rapunzel to give him an icy look, asking him to be quiet. However, he discovered pleading eyes. The young girl just wanted to put an end to this difficult situation. Her affection calmed Eugene enough to make him realize that it was indeed his only chance to stay free and unscathed.<br/><br/>"Alright," he sighed, "I promise to not run away."<br/><br/>“And you promise not to use your weapons against me?” asked the iron lady.<br/><br/>"I promise. I won't even take them in hand except if we are threatened. ”<br/><br/>The guard still hesitated. It was all promises. There was not much to ensure that either of them would keep their promise. Everyone knew that this whole thing had only two possible outcomes now: a leap of faith or a bloody battle. They were only sure of one thing after this long conversation. Both had met the steel giant and wanted to rid the kingdom of these horrible monsters that were invading it.<br/><br/>“One last thing,” Rapunzel added. “Of course you’ll need to help me find and bring my mother to safety.”<br/><br/>“I guess it's not unreasonable,” the warrior admitted.<br/><br/>A heavy silence fell over the darkened forest. Eugene didn’t dare to breathe until the sword was taken away and his arm released. The bandit massaged his aching member and walked away from the one who had taken him hostage, under Gothel's dismayed and furious gaze. The situation had escalated to an unbearable point for her. Anguish twisted each of her limbs and made her lock her head in her fingers hooked like old branches. The girl with the golden hair slowly approached the guard. She tightened her grip on her sword, until Rapunzel tucked her weapon in her belt. The girl in the pink dress stopped a few feet from the warrior, a cheerful chameleon on her shoulder, and held out her hand with a smile.<br/><br/>“My name is Rapunzel.”<br/><br/>The guard looked her in the eye. In a strange way, the gaze of her interlocutor had become softer and more reassuring. It was the most complicated night she had ever lived, but the warrior finally put her sword away, as her owl rested on her shoulder, and smiled back, shaking her hand.<br/><br/>“And my name is Cassandra.”<br/><br/>In the darkness, Gothel's fury was swept away like a candle flame. Only her wide eyes remained.</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>The Tangled Dooms</strong>
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</p><p>
  <span class="u">
    <strong>Chapter 17</strong>
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</p><p>
  <strong>(Bonus)</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>All were silent. The song of the soldiers had stumbled on the terrible and unexpected reality. Smoldering ruins had swept away their smiles. Collapsed walls encircled a field of snow filled with black sticks. A heavy rope swayed in the wind, a hanged man whose motionless mass was making a bell ring. From its swing was born its own funeral song. The men were speechless, as was the woman hidden among them, before the ash sculptures and the scarlet sky. Mulan's heart was strangled by pain. She was having a hard time hiding it. Her companions, hidden in the cart pulled by her horse, were as devastated as her. She only managed to close her eyes to the field of ruin and its scent of slaughter. Li Shang, the leader of this army, entered the ghost town on his white horse. However, even his impeccable military discipline could not hide his bewilderment. He knew that behind him, his men awaited his reaction, any command. He turned toward them and declared firmly.</p><p>"Look for survivors."</p><p>The soldiers stomped away, as none were deluding themselves. Li Shang and his steed jumped when a burned roof collapsed with a terrible creak. Mulan walked through a tattered curtain, searching for any sign of life. She found only an abandoned rag doll. The young woman was always careful to think about how a man behaves to not reveal her true nature, but not now. Seeing this toy was like seeing all the happy memories that came with it and all the ones that would never happen. Mulan brought the doll to her heart. She thanked her father's armor for hiding who she was right now. She heard Li Shang getting down from his horse and approaching, his eyes filled with anguish.</p><p>"I don't understand…" he explained. “My father should have been here.</p><p>"Captain!" Chi-fu called out to him.</p><p>The usually haughty Emperor's envoy was astonished. Eyes wide, he only managed to lift a hooked and heavy finger towards the valley behind the ruined village. Under the eyes of the captain and the disguised warrior unfolds an ocean of death. Swords, banners, arrows, helmets and lakes of blood covered the entire snow-covered field. Up to the horizon, the white canvas was stained with black, red and metallic shards. Li Shang was mystified, as were his men, but also completely lost. Mulan, Yao and Ling joined him in this awful contemplation. Chien-po, his round face marked with incomprehension, moved away from the battlefield to bring to his captain a golden helmet adorned with a long feather.</p><p>"The general…" he whispered, holding out the piece of armor.</p><p>Li Shang grabbed his father's helmet, looking even more lost. All stood for a moment with their confused gaze in front of this awful place. Suddenly, Chien-po said, looking at the battlefield, a sentence that intrigued everyone.</p><p>“There’s something wrong here.”</p><p>“It's a battlefield, Yao growled, what could be right about this?”</p><p>“Wait…” Ling interrupted, observing the battlefield more closely. “That’s not how it’s supposed to look.”</p><p>The captain should have said something he thought, but the veracity of these words froze him as they confirmed his own doubts. Yao didn't understand. Mulan revealed the problem to him by expressing, as if lost in her dismay, the question that was on everyone’s lips.</p><p>“Where are the bodies?”</p><p>There were weapons and blood, far too much blood, but indeed there was not a single body on this battlefield. Neither Imperial soldiers nor Huns. It wasn’t normal. A battle always left dead people, even a small one. This was not the case here. How was it possible? Had the victors buried the bodies? No one believed it. No army took the time to do this, especially for such a big battle. The captain stopped observing this impossibility to gaze at the general's helmet. Could he be still alive? Did his army simply go after their attackers? Would he have left without his helmet? In a rush, why not? But would he have taken the time to bury the corpses? And would he have left all those blades behind? None of this made any sense.</p><p>“Hey! Over here!” shouted a voice behind them.</p><p>A soldier asked the group to join him near a destroyed house. They did so, pushed by a curiosity they dared not nourished with hope. There, they discovered a survivor. Or more like someone alive, lying against a wall and sitting on a cushion of bloody snow. He was not wearing armor but a garment made of animal skins. No one doubted. It was a hun. His breathing was deep and quivering, his eyes wide, fixed on nothing and no one. A half-burnt curtain was hung near him. It had obviously been used as a hiding place until the army arrived. Mulan found the warrior's hand pressed firmly against his belly from which a red stream and sticky hills were escaping. When she realized what those were, Mulan felt nausea rise in her throat. She had to put her hand against her mouth and stop breathing to avoid throwing up.</p><p>“Let me finish him,” Yao growled, walking with his sword in hand towards the enemy, but being stopped by the captain's hand</p><p>He steadfastly approached the hun, his father's helmet in hand. He knelt before the dying warrior. Each of his men waited for his reaction. Li Shang fixed his intense like hot iron gaze  into the injured man's empty eyes.</p><p>“What happened here?” he asked without patience. “Where is the imperial army?”</p><p>The hun didn't answer. His eyes remained frozen like those of a horrified statue. His breathing was now interspersed with gasps.</p><p>"Answer me!"</p><p>“Captain…” interrupted the one he knew as Ping.</p><p>Mulan had taken her courage in both hands to approach and kneel beside Shang and the injured man. She could see it clearly: it was a miracle he was still alive. His gaze told her how much he was in pain. Everything was a haze of suffering for the hun. There was no point in adding more to his confusion.</p><p>“I don’t think he can…”</p><p>A quick, firm grip grabbed Mulan's armor and brought her closer to the hun's dirty and twisted face. The soldiers reflexively grabbed their swords, but remained still when they saw what was actually happening. The hun’s lips were quivering, his eyes were nothing but fear and pain. It was a face of terror that infected Mulan, frozen in anguish as the dying man spat out rambling words.</p><p>“Lightning…” he said to Mulan's surprise. “No clouds… but lightning…” The soldiers exchanged looks of incomprehension. “Fangs… Fire… Blood…” The hun coughed. “B… Beasts ... Every… where…”</p><p>The hun spat out a spray of blood and gave up the ghost, his fingers letting go and falling to the ground. His eyes remained frozen with terror. Mulan didn't dare move with this life that evaporated in front of her. He was a hun. She was an imperial soldier. Yet, her heart was heavy, her throat tight, and nausea rose again now that the warrior's hand had relaxed. For the dead man then let a cascade of blood and an avalanche of guts spilling over the white snow.</p><p>“What does it mean?” asked Chien-po.</p><p>The captain stood up in silence and gazed at the general's helmet for a moment before stepping away from the corpse with a disciplined step.</p><p>“These are simply the confused last words of a dying man.” he declared, getting back on his horse. “Whatever happened, the way to the capital is through the Tung Shao Pass. If the Hun or the Imperial army are still alive, this is where they are. Everyone, get ready! ”</p><p>The soldiers, although unsettled by this intriguing field of ruin, obeyed without delay. All but one. Li Shang spotted the soldier standing beside him kneeling, paralyzed, beside the dead hun. The captain fastened his father's helmet to his saddle before approaching Ping. He couldn't see Ping’s face, but he knew how wide his eyes were, his mind blank and his breath had stopped.</p><p>“First time you see someone dying.” he asserted with measured empathy.</p><p>Mulan stood still. She had heard the words but didn't dare to move. She didn't know how to react. She felt like she'd hit a wall that she'd forced herself to forget, even if she knew she would hit it at some point. Mulan knew that when she joined the army, she would have to see people die. But it was like she had only been aware of this since the hun's last breath had smacked her face. In that acrid caress, she had felt years of joys, sorrows, fears and hopes vanish. Her mind resisted, for if she let go, Mulan would have to accept the idea that one day, she would have to willingly use her sword, muscles and thoughts to cut through this river of feelings and turn a man into a rotting corpse. It froze her whole body.</p><p>“I understand how troubling it is.” Li Shang explained with a compassion veiled by discipline. “But some day, it will be one of them or you. You should be prepared for that. ”</p><p>The warrior came out of her stupor. She looked up at her captain who was already moving away to lead his troops. She didn't know what to think. Could she do this? Slit a throat to spill blood? Break a skull to crush its brains? End an existence and its possibilities to protect her own? She didn't know. Mulan didn't know how she would react if this happened. She gazed one last time at the toy she had picked up. She couldn't let it go. This so sweet and reassuring thing could not be left alone in the cold. Mulan tucked it into the belt of her armor before returning to the wagon she was responsible for.</p><hr/><p>The soldiers walked steadily and in total silence through a thick haze. After having discovered a battlefield without corpses, the warriors discovered themselves in a snow-covered pass where the weather was not even cold. It was by no means normal and everyone knew it. Barely an hour earlier, the cold was awful, passing even through their armor. Their captain had made them climb up, in a narrow passage, and yet the temperature was higher. Mushu had almost caught a cold earlier. Now he was doing his best not to breathe. He quietly poked his head out of the rocket wagon he was occupying with Cri-Kee, his hand on his nose, and asked Mulan.</p><p>“Am I the only one smelling this?”</p><p>The young woman in disguise gave him an angry look, making him hide again. He did so without delay because his friend's face answered his question. She also had her hand on her nose with an expression of deep disgust. In front of her, Ling, who believed the question was from her, said with the same expression.</p><p>“No you’re not. What is it? ”</p><p>“I don’t know.” Chien-po declared. “But it’s not appetizing at all.”</p><p>"Don’t tell me." added Yao. "It’s like something is rotting..."</p><p>“Stay quiet and focused.” commanded Li Shang, before feeling a breeze rising. “This wind will disperse the fog. Be careful. ”</p><p>The captain had got it right, slowly, the wind was pushing back the white veil that kept them from moving at a decent pace. The smell, however, was not going away. It was suffocating the soldiers who sometimes had to cough to breath for a moment. As visibility improved, Li Shang ordered his troops to stop. Everyone obeyed, but it took a moment to understand why. Further down the road, indistinct things were passing at full speed. Concentrating on them, Mulan thought she spotted six shapes and the neighing of several horses. There was no doubt about it, these were riders moving away from them at high speed. She even thought she spotted a large bird next to one of them, but there was no way of knowing if they were Huns or Imperial soldiers. The only thing certain was that they were running from something. As the captain was about to send men after them, a voice called out to him.</p><p>“Look! There’s someone approaching! ”</p><p>Li Shang turned to the direction indicated by his soldier and recognized a man in armor emerging from the fog. Its owner walked with an uncertain walk. He seemed ready to stumble with every step. Most of the dark plates on his gear looked dented, some were even missing, but no one doubted this man was in the Emperor's army. While worried about him, most soldiers felt hopeful at the sight of someone who could provide them with answers. Ling ran with Yao towards him.</p><p>“Hey! Are you okay? ” asked Ling.</p><p>“Are you with the general’s army?” continued Yao. “What happ…?”</p><p>The question was interrupted by a horrible howl. As soon as Yao was close to the man they had come to help, the said man had thrown himself over Yao like a lunatic. He tackled the warrior with all his weight and tried to hit Yao who pushed him back with all his strength. He could easily have pulled him away, but what he saw had confused his mind. He didn't have a man in front of him. No human being had eyes so bright, glowing like dying stars. His hollow cheeks and blood-stained teeth made him look like a corpse. Yet this dead man was yelling and chattering his teeth in front of him. The maniac’s fists tried to smash his skull.</p><p>Panicking, Yao used his legs to swing the creature that was trying to kill him behind. The monster wasted no time getting up and discovered a new victim near him: Mulan herself. As soon as its red light eyes stared at her, Mulan's heart began to hit her chest at full speed. The creature rushed towards her, screaming even louder. The young woman was no longer thinking. Her wide eyes were fixed on her assailant. With every step he did towards her, Mulan backed up a little further. Her breath was losing its natural rhythm. There was no longer a foul smell or fatigue tugging at her legs. There was only this thing that propelled its mouth towards its prey. Her hands trembled so much she couldn’t grab her sword. She barely felt the doll she had hung near her scabbard. She took another step back and lost her balance. The monster screamed again as it rushed towards the disguised woman. Mulan could only, in an unnecessary reflex, raise her arms to hide badly from her predator.</p><p>The monster's scream was cut when a hiss was heard. Two hits against the ground caught the anguished gaze of Mulan, who discovered the disgusting head of the creature detached from its body, as well as Li Shang's blade dripping red pearls. The person he knew as Ping tried to catch his breath and saw his captain's confused gaze. His attack had been precise, without hesitation, but he didn't understand what he had killed. He shifted his stunned eyes to Ping, then Yao and Ling. None were less disturbed than him. Mulan still couldn't breathe. Her heartbeat refused to slow down. Then her eyes looked at something that stopped everything inside her.</p><p>“What…?” she stammered.</p><p>Her reaction drew the attention of the men around her to what was paralyzing her. The mist was dispersing. More black masses were revealed. Most of the soldiers had fallen backwards or to their knees, unable to accept the reality of the horror that inhabited this mountain and towered over their small troop. Armored men, others dressed in animal skin, and impossible creatures inhabited the area. Monsters with eyes glowing as fire or yellow as pus spotted the snow with their loathsome forms. Snakes with sharp horns, flesh-colored bats, purple boars, flying skulls in flame, metallic insects with almost human mouths… The sky was inhabited by grotesque spheres with gaping mouths and one only eye. Some blood red, others brown like old trees. Even the most humanoid of these things were not human. They were blood red, emaciated, skeletal, grotesque. Each of these things had the gaze of a hungry beast.</p><p>And behind them, enthroned at the top of the pass, leaning against the peak of the mountain as on a stone throne, a disgusting mass reigned. An oozing agglomerate of shapeless red flesh dominated the area. A nightmarish creation as tall as a palace. All over that bloody heap were teeth, eyes and atrocious appendages that adorned the thing to its wiggling top. Neither the men present, nor Mulan, nor even the dragon accustomed to fantastic beings, could believe what they had in front of their eyes. Khan, the young woman's horse, began to gasp in fear. The monsters howled like a cohort of wild animals. Only this cacophony succeeded in waking up the captain.</p><p>“Attack!” he yelled with all his might.</p><p>Most of his troops did so quickly, not to obey orders, but because their instinct demanded it. Those things that shouldn't even exist wanted to devour them, rip out their limbs, cut off their veins, crush their eyes ... They had to kill them first. The charge started against the creatures of hell. The Imperial soldiers never imagined that their training would be used for this. Most of them forgot their discipline facing the fangs of their opponents. Others continued to assault without slowing down. Clawed hands were cut off. Chinese blades pierced hearts. Yet, the military formation of the warriors wasn’t enough against the savagery of steel snakes and red men throwing fireballs at them. As beastly howls, and other quite human, echoed through Tung Shao Pass, burning projectiles slammed against the rocket wagon. The black horse tied to it could only trample the snow in which his convoy was stuck. The Lucky Cricket had already leapt out to take refuge in its mistress's armor, just as the miniature dragon barely dodged a fireball. Even he who knew supernatural creatures did not understand what was going on. His little heart was about to explode. They had to get out of here immediately. He in turn jumped from the wagon to land on the shoulder of the young woman who was curled up behind the convoy, pressed against the wheel to make herself as small as possible.</p><p>“Hey!” he exclaimed “If you don’t want to end up in barbecue, I suggest that you run right now!”</p><p>“This can’t be happening…” whispered Mulan.</p><p>Astonishment and incomprehension seized Mushu when he discovered the face of his friend with eyes filled with terror. She had taken her head in her hands, despite the helmet between the two, and she was breathing harshly. Her voice didn't dare to increase volume.</p><p>“This isn’t real.” she repeated like a mantra. "I’m asleep and this is a nightmare!"</p><p>A dark form flew past her and crashed a few feet in front of her, pulling her out of her mental cage. Ling hardly got up. He failed and collapsed to the ground before crawling. Mulan remained with a glassy gaze, frozen in terror, as a skeletal humanoid with blood-red skin tiptoed hungryly towards her comrade. Its claws clicked and a shrill cry escaped from its yellow-fanged mouth. He was going to tear Ling like an old cloth without hesitation. She would be next. Mulan had to flee. Ling was going to die before her eyes. The skinny soldier turned and crawled backwards, unable to take his eyes off the creatures. The monster raised its gaunt arm with shapeless claws.</p><p>The creature was thrown aside. It landed on its feet nimbly to face Mulan, who had thrown herself at him by reflex. The disguised woman's gaze was lost, unable to believe what she had just done. Mushu didn't believe it either. As the red monster screamed, an explosion threw the entire group in all directions. Mulan's ribs seemed to vibrate in pain and her head was a bell struck with force. Her helmet had been propelled far away. Ling had been thrown into the snow and the cart had been overturned. The rockets were now scattered all over the place as Khan frantically tried to break free from his shackles. Mushu sprang out of some snow before widening his eyes. The young woman looked up and discovered a new horror: an armored skeleton covered in blood and with bulging eyes.</p><p>The red-skinned monster howled a blow at the newcomer, who answered it brutally, before the two of them focused on their prey. Mulan remained paralyzed as the red thing waved its fingers and the skeleton pointed two metal protrusions resting on its shoulders towards her. She didn't care what it was, she knew it could kill her. Why had she thrown herself on this monster? Why did she get their attention? She should have stayed hidden. Cylinders inside the strange shoulder pads lit up with impossible fire. She didn't want to die. She wanted to go home. She wanted to see her father and mother again.</p><p>A shock behind her attracted the attention of the monsters. A thunderous sound hit her eardrums and caused the red creature to explode. A mass passed quickly and punched the monster to throw it to the ground. The thing screamed. A screech answered it and a blade beheaded the monster. It took a moment for Mulan to figure out what had happened. When her mind stabilized, she finally saw the immensity of what she had in front of her.</p><p>It was a human, she supposed, as tall as Chien-po, but without his reassuring plumpness. This was a mass of muscle and steel in a completely foreign style. Rather than Imperial black, this colossus was encased in an armor of dark green and brown. He was not afraid by the nightmares that surrounded him. He stood there proudly, as in his natural element, upright like an ancient oak tree. </p><p>The Doom Slayer briefly looked at his surroundings. The skinny warrior had passed out after the Revenant’s missile exploded. The other one, with a soft face, had his bewildered eyes fixed on him. He was alive. The Slayer had to find his target. He reloaded his Super Shotgun and rushed towards the demonic army. The still human soldiers were fighting valiantly against the zombies and Imps. However, dozens of more powerful monsters were coming like a waterfall of flesh and bones down the pass. They wouldn't last long.</p><p>Li Shang's heart was drowned in fear, but his blade was still slicing through enemies without hesitation. He pierced the torso of one of the moving corpses whose forehead was marked with strange symbols. Enjoying a second of calm, he commanded his men to close ranks before parrying the onslaught of another undead. These things were skinny, but their savagery made them stronger than they looked. He resisted until a shadow over his opponent caught their attention. In the second, a boot crushed the zombie's leg and a hand tore off its head like a weed whose spine was the drooping root. Disoriented, the captain remained unresponsive when he discovered the metal colossus which threw the monster's skull without paying much attention before emerging from the void behind him a strange weapon painted red.</p><p>The Slayer, under the intimidated and lost eyes of the Imperial soldiers, unleashed flames with his shoulder cannon that set the enemy ranks ablaze before them. His Heavy Cannon threw a rain of bullets at the zombies until they were reduced to a mash of cooked viscera. One of the monsters, too close to him, was thrown into the air by the Slayer's leg before being caught and having his spine snapped in two with a knee kick. An imp tried to jump on him but the Colossus sliced him in mid-flight with the Doomblade before throwing a grenade into the mouth of a cacodemon and leaping to tear his eye out. He sliced a gargoyle in half as he fell to a clean landing.</p><p>The soldiers no longer knew what to think. Before their eyes, the living tide that was routing the emperor's army was being wiped out by a single man with impossible weapons. Each attack produced explosions similar to miniature rockets and his assaults were flawless. Each attack was as brutal as it was precise. Was it a human or a new abomination? A new wave of monsters, composed of creatures more disgusting and gigantic than the previous ones, rushed at him. Yet, he didn't take a step back.</p><p>The Slayer pulled out of his quantum bag his biggest weapon. No one understood how this man, as strong as he was, could lift this object as tall as a man. The colossus pointed the BFG 9000 at the mountain stream of fangs. A high-pitched sound echoed, then a sphere of green light passed over the monstrous ranks, releasing bolts of the same color on absolutely every creature. All the monsters exploded like balloons of blood and guts. The entire pass was made red and silence returned. The hellish vermin exterminator looked up and spotted his objective. As he stared at the immense mass of tentacles and fangs hanging from the mountain, an electronic voice echoed through his headphones.</p><p>“This Super Gore Nest may be young, informed Dr. Hayden, but the spike of energy I detect makes me think it will not need a long time to bring back demons.”</p><p>Mulan had got up and witnessed the Doom Slayer's carnage in a mix of awe and fear. She had trembled like a little girl at the smallest of these things. This man had wiped out their entire army by magic and without the slightest hesitation. She couldn't tell if the Colossus had an indestructible discipline or relentless fury. He hadn't hesitated or gotten back. And thanks to this, the soldiers she had come to know well, Yao, Ling, Chien Po and even Li Shang were still alive, though appalled by what they had seen. The stranger remained unperturbed, without the slightest sign of fatigue or worry, as she stood speechless and staring wide, her arms dangling like those of the doll hanging near her scabbard.</p><p>As a response to the doctor's words, a growl echoed through Tung Shao's pass. Red lightning flashed across the mass of flesh that sat atop it. Mulan, along with all of the Imperial soldiers, found all around them lightning bolts of the same color that struck the ground and brought new monstrosities that surrounded them. Li Shang screamed at his men to attack again. Every passing second, a new horror appeared. If fear hadn't paralyzed Mulan's throat, she would have screamed. The Slayer had his goal. However, as Hayden had surmised, a new demon army was beginning to form. He exchanged his BFG for his Chaingun and deployed his Mobile Turret Mode to begin sweeping the creatures in front of him. He also knew the weak point of this kind of target. Anticipating his thoughts, the doctor announced to the Slayer.</p><p>“I spotted the heart of the Gore Nest. It is at the top of the structure. It didn’t have time to form a protective layer around it yet. I don't know if you can shoot it from here though."</p><p>Hayden had given him the final details. He had to come closer and shoot the still fragile heart of this loathsome mass. The Slayer took his ballista and fired an energy bolt at an Elemental Pain before he could cast one of his Lost Souls. The projectile exploded and the colossus brought down the creature, jumping to it to pierce its eye. The warrior landed, crushing a zombie's skull, but a Carcass formed an energy barrier in front of him. The Slayer rushed towards him and took his Chainsaw to slice him in half. He took back his Combat Shotgun and threw a bomb at a group of Imps before launching a frozen missile at a Revenant which he exploded with a shot and a punch. It was going to be a long climb, but the Slayer was patient.</p><p>For Mulan, the nightmare seemed endless. Everywhere she looked, she saw nothing but abominations. She wanted to run away, but there was no way out. She thought she heard Mushu the moment he had taken refuge in her armor, but she hadn't understood his words. The tornado of screams, explosions and the hiss of swords tangled in her head. She was dizzy, nauseous, and her legs had turned into twigs ready to snap. There were no more thoughts, just a bag of emotions. There was no more Mulan, Ping, Fa Zhou's daughter, Imperial soldier. There was only a lost and frightened body searching for a way out. Her mind needed landmarks. She looked at the fighting imperial soldiers. Li Shang sliced the undeads one after the other, but between each assault, she saw him losing his breath. He was starting to tire. Each monster had a better chance of killing him and their monstrous army was innumerable. Yao was propelled by a Pinkie. Chien Po was trying to put out a Mancubus flame that had set his belt ablaze. Ling was fighting again, but was no less exhausted than the captain.</p><p>Her eyes returned to the armor of the undeads. Some had been soldiers like them, like her. Her gaze fell on the red mass which dominated the battlefield. She stared at it in an unconscious and futile hope of understanding what was going on. She thought she had seen the worst things in the entire world, and yet, observing the structure of flesh, she gradually detected arms, rib cages, guts, skulls, torn skin, streams of blood… Her mind remembered the ruined village, the empty battlefield. The connection in her head made her understand the most loathsome truth, the worst atrocity ever. Was this what she would become? An oozing and disgusting pile with no name? Parts dripping with blood? Her eyes mushy? Her fingers sprinkled all over the place? Her heart in pieces? Not even a corpse or a memory? Just a thing? No, an indistinct and mixed part of a thing?</p><p>Her wide eyes turned to an Imp who was rushing towards her. Its fangs were going to tear her skin and its claws, cut off her veins. The monster screamed with arms forward, ready to grab her. Its scream stopped. Its body fell to the ground. Its head rolled away from the body. Red drops rained down from Mulan's blade. When she pulled out her sword, the rag doll on her belt had fallen into the snow. A fountain of blood flowed from the demon's decapitated body and drowned the toy in a sticky scarlet pool.</p><p>The warrior's breathing was rapid. Her eyes wide. They were attracted to undead soldiers turned towards her. One of them rushed at her screaming. Mulan's jaw was tight. Her muscles were shaking, but this time for being too tight. She screamed too. During one scream, an attack swift like the wind decapitated one soldier, another pierced the throat of a second one and a quick gesture sliced the legs of the last before cutting his head in two vertically.</p><p>There were no humans here. Only monsters. She no longer had any doubts, fears or qualms. There was only her blade. She was her blade and the body handing it. Her attacks had to be precise and without hesitation, a perfect mechanism. Lightning flashed behind her. She discovered a steel snake with sharp horns. The monster revealed a fiery hook chain, which flew towards her. Mulan, her gaze ablaze and face tense, stepped aside, reoriented her sword and stabbed the monster's chest before pulling it out to pierce its skull. Mulan inhaled and exhaled like a rabid buffalo. Her teeth shone like wolf fangs. Her eyes were piercing like those of a crazy tiger. She saw a group of creatures a little further away. She ran towards them, shouting with strength.</p><p>The Slayer took his Rocket Launcher and launched a salvo at a Baron of Hell. The creature with the exploded torso staggered. The colossus lunged at him, swinging a grenade at a Pinkie. He grabbed its horn before piercing its skull with his blade and then doing the same with the Pinky. The Slayer spotted a Hell Knight leaping towards him. He propelled himself away and picked up his Super Shotgun. He shot him once, then a second, before hitting him and beheading him. A Gargoyle threw an acid projectile at him. His armor had picked up some damage but nothing important. He threw his Meat Hook at it and grabbed the monster. He flew to the captured target and grabbed its head, which he beheaded with a brief gesture. In his fall he landed on a zombie soldier whose skull was then crushed.</p><p>He spotted Lost Souls and a Mancubus ready to shoot him, but a natural reflex made him focus on an Arch-Vile that had just appeared. The colossus grabbed it with his Meat Hook and threw himself at it, after throwing an Ice Bomb at the Lost Souls. Once within range, the Arch-vile attempted to attack him. The Doom Blade pierced his skull. He took a shot from the Mancubus which threw him back a few steps. He immediately turned toward his new target, which was yelling loudly with a zombie soldier by his side. The Doom Slayer lunged at them, but stopped when a hand took the zombie’s shoulder from behind before a blade pierced its skull through the eye.</p><p>The undead collapsed and the Mancubus turned its swine eyes to the assailant: an Imperial soldier with a partially undone bun, a face twisted with rage and stained with blood. The hellish ogre bellowed at the new fighter contemptuously, but the soldier responded with a beastly scream before leaping towards it. The warrior jumped on the monster’s belly with the fluidity of a wild animal. The soldier put his second foot on one of the cannon arms and raised a blade, plunging it to the hilt in the creature's forehead. The soldier landed smoothly as the beast collapsed like a big bag. The second she hit the ground, Mulan spotted a Dread Knight next to her, whose flaming blade made her roll to avoid it. She dodged another attack with a step to the side and slashed her foe's throat with a quick move, before thrusting her sword into its jaw.</p><p>Mulan felt a presence in her back and spun around to attack. Her blade was blocked, slamming against another and much larger one. She blinked at the colossus who covered her with all his gigantic shadow and was looking at her. He was taller than she had imagined. His helmet had a strange transparent material that revealed a perfectly sharp look: precise and menacing like a sword. She saw in his eyes a ruthless flame in a steel shell. The Slayer gently pushed back the soldier’s blade, whose thin face and partially undone bun made him doubt his masculinity. He guessed her true nature. He shot at a zombie to his right without taking his eyes off her. The gaze mixing utter dread and bestial rage he saw in the depths of her pupils revealed a familiar spark to him.</p><p>Crimson lightning caused a group of zombies to appear around them. Mulan snapped out of her amazement and the Slayer took his Combat Shotgun. The young woman threw herself on a zombie to pierce his chest with a sharp, precise blow, as the Slayer inflamed the enemies in front of him. He shot a Pinky who was running at him. The shot deflected its trajectory and made it stumble behind the Slayer. Mulan pierced the Pinky's eyes. She saw a Prowler out of the corner of her eye and attacked it. He disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke and she found it behind her. The monster was interrupted by the giant who plunged one of his huge hands in his back to rip off his spine with his skull.</p><p>The warrior moved quickly behind the Slayer and sliced off the arm of a zombie soldier before cutting its skull. She narrowly dodged a ball of blue energy whose origin was a brain on metallic spider legs. The thing barely had time to scream when its cannon received a grenade from the Slayer's Combat Shotgun that blew it apart. Mulan had rushed towards it and plunged her sword into the creature's eye. The thing screamed but eventually fell apart. A new Prowler appeared close to her, Mulan deflected its clawed arm with a move of her hand, kicked him in the face, knocking him to the ground and in a quick gesture retrieved her blade and decapitated the monster.</p><p>The young woman had to move backward to avoid the massive fist of a Hell Knight, before it was strafed by the Slayer's Chaingun and reduced to a red mush that spattered Mulan. The Slayer saw an arch of red energy and narrowly avoided it. He took his Super Shotgun when he found a Marauder running towards him, its axe slipping on the snow. The demon slashed with its blade of energy which was parried with the Doom Blade. The Slayer fired at the Shotgun but the Marauder deployed his shield in time. The monster kicked the Colossus with his boot which pushed him back a bit and drew his own shotgun. A sword slashing its back interrupted its attack and made it turn its gaze towards Mulan, giving the Slayer time to rush towards him and plant the Doom Blade in its eye.</p><p>The warrior saw the missile salvo that a Tyrant had fired. The trajectory of one of them would end on the warrior girl. He pushed her back with a powerful flick of his palm and dodged the explosion. He still had a lot of demons to face and a long climb to do. He grabbed his Crucible and deployed its scarlet energy blade as he raced towards the Tyrant. The young woman watched him rush without slowing down towards his prey and cut the horned giant in three brutal blows. She could have stayed speechless at this carnage mastery if a Zombie Soldier hadn’t hit her in the back. She forgot the pain and, with the fluidity of a bloodstained stream, she grabbed his arm and twice stuck her blade into his heart.</p><p>Mulan saw Li Shang having trouble with a Revenant. The captain cut off its arm and then its head. A bolt of lightning caused a Carcass to appear behind him. Its metal arm stopped Shang's blade, but not the one Mulan plunged into his puffy head. The captain was surprised at this intervention, but the warrior did not stop. She raced between the Imperial soldiers like the wind in the woods to an Imp threatening one of her comrades. She spun around, kicking the demon's legs. The monster didn't have time to fall back as Mulan's sword cut it in half in mid-flight. Lightning brought up a Whiplash who sent a flaming hook she couldn't avoid. She ignored the pain in her ribs and, without hesitation, sliced the monster in many pieces. She ran towards a group of zombies, but stumbled.</p><p>Her legs hurt terribly. She couldn't take it anymore. This fight seemed to have no possible end. If this continued, she would eventually pass out from exhaustion before being torn to pieces. Another bolt of lightning summoned a Pinky who rushed at Chien-po. Another brought in a Mancubus ready to shoot. This nightmare had to end. It was all because of this horror on the top of the mountain. Red lightnings were dancing continuously over its mass covered with teeth and eyes. She saw the beating heart of this hell summoner. It was banging on top of the flesh sculpture, mocking her behind its army of monsters. Her target was there.</p><p>Mulan heard Khan's neigh near the convoy. He had freed himself from his shackles and was kicking in the air to ward off a Prowler who was about to attack him. The warrior rushed at the monster, screaming. When the beast turned to face her, Mulan's sword slammed into its chest and sliced it in half vertically. Her horse was saved and the rocket cart was visible. Without delay, she lunged at the dragon-headed projectiles and planted one with the power of rage into the reddened snow.</p><p>“Hum… Can I go out or…?” asked the real dragon from her armor.</p><p>Without understanding, Mushu found himself nearly strangled by Mulan, who had grabbed him with a firm hand and stretched him to make him vomit a flame on the fuse of the rocket. The fire was powerful enough that the projectile started its ascent almost immediately. The little dragon, still imprisoned by the woman's suffocating grip, watched the flight of the rocket with a bewildered air.</p><p>“What was that for?!” he asked with a strangled but angry voice.</p><p>His gaze was then fixed on the explosion caused by the projectile atop the sculpture of flesh and blood. The instant the fire rose from the point of impact, a deafening cry like a slaughtered pig echoed through the entire pass. The demons looked confused as the Imperial soldiers covered their ears. The Slayer killed a Revenant in front of him with a kick in the head and looked up at the Super Gore Nest.</p><p>“It seems someone dealt with this problem before you.” announced Dr. Hayden.</p><p>The Slayer looked quickly to where the rocket had taken off and had just enough time to find the young woman he had seen fighting earlier before a terrible rumble replaced the high-pitched scream of the Gore Nest. A new fear invaded the heart of the Imperial soldiers. A ton of snow fell off the top of the mountain and caused a tsunami of snow, blood and guts to form. The warriors began to run in the opposite direction, including Yao, Ling, and Chien po. One by one, the demons were carried away by the avalanche to the edge of the cliff to be thrown into the void, much to Mulan's relief. She felt unpleasantly surprised when she saw Li Shang who lost consciousness floating in the middle of the cataclysm. She automatically snapped Khan's reins and threw him into the torrent of snow. Her steed's determination and perfect balance led her to her captain. She used her last strength to pull him back onto the horse, under the awestruck but exhausted looks of the soldiers sheltered under a rock formation.</p><p>“We need to help them!” screamed Yao.</p><p>“But how?” asked Ling. “There’s no more arrow!”</p><p>Mushu, accompanied by the cricket, cautiously stepped out of Mulan's armor, asking, half-angry.</p><p>“And now? Can I go out or you’ll… CLIFF !!! ”</p><p>The black horse was swimming with all its might against the icy current, but it was carrying too many people. Mulan was yelling at him to give him more courage. However, the power of the avalanche was far too great.</p><p>"We’re gonna die!" screamed Mushu. “I think we’re gonna die! Death is coming! ”</p><p>Rather than the icy wind of the void, the group suffered a terrible shock that nearly knocked them off Khan. Confused, the dragon, the cricket and the young woman discovered two arms against which the steed was compressed by the snow. But at least they weren't moving toward the cliff anymore. The stranger's steel body prevented the group from falling to their death. The dragon was frozen, eyes wide and staring into the Slayer's ones. He saw no signs of fatigue or pain.</p><p>“I’m glad you are with us, men.” declared the dragon.</p><p>The snow stopped rolling. Silence reigned over Tung Shao Pass again. Mulan stepped down from Khan with Shang's body, partially wiping her face to remove the blood that stained her. The horse was emerging from the snow in which it was plunged up to the head. The Doom Slayer in turn emerged from the white and red ocean as Mushu and Cricket returned to take refuge in Mulan's armor as the Imperial soldiers were approaching. Li Shang groaned in pain and opened his eyes. At first lost, he soon discovered the half-wiped face of Ping and most of his men. He looked around quickly and, to the great misfortune of his soldiers, discovered the skies still occupied by armies of horned brown spheres and reddish cyclops.</p><p>The eyes of the captain and Mulan were then drawn to the armored giant who walked quietly in front of them. His first shot gave the soldiers time to regroup and a better chance of survival. His second would put an end to this battle. The Slayer took once again his BFG 9000, pointed it at the sky, and catapulted a sphere of green energy. All of the infernal balloons still present exploded before the stunned eyes of the Imperial Army. The Slayer took one last look behind him. A few dead persons, many wounded, exhausted soldiers on the verge of madness. He paused for a moment on the young woman kneeling in the snow, who froze when she noticed his gaze on her. She was on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion and fear, but she had fought with the fury of a wild beast and the skill of a warrior.</p><p>"All of your targets have been wiped out." Hayden declared. "I still don't know how a Gore Nest of this size could have formed here and so quickly, but all my analysis suggests that this world is safe again."</p><p>No soldier, not even the captain or Mulan, dared speak to the strange colossus. Everyone jumped when they saw a blue disk of energy forming a little further away. The Slayer walked, silent as the mountain, towards the portal. He stopped halfway, gazing at the ground. Mulan watched him leaning towards the ground, curious and anxious. She saw him pull out of the snow a large piece of metal which he held in his hand to gaze at it calmly. The giant turned and tossed it without hesitation. The projectile hit Mulan in the chest as she grabbed it with both hands. Although the colossus's strength was visibly measured, the shock almost threw the young woman back. Mulan looked down at what she had grabbed and discovered a helmet. Not just any helmet. Through an unknown and intuitive connection, she knew it was her own, the one from her family’s armor. It was now adorned with a fracture, like a scar, but she knew it was hers.</p><p>Mulan looked up at the stranger with eyes full of questions, but the stranger had already turned his back on the Imperial soldiers. He disappeared into the circle of energy, which in turn vanished, leaving only a white, red, cold battlefield inhabited by warriors on the verge of insanity. The captain turned in bewilderment to the soldier he knew as Ping. His eyes were sweating dozens of questions too, but he suspected that none of them had answers. None knew how to react now that the storm had died down. All they could do was resume a natural reaction to the first event happening. Mulan held her ribs in pain. Li Shang rushed to her side and discovered a stain of blood.</p><p>“He’s wounded!” screamed the captain. “Get help!”</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>The Tangled Dooms</strong> </span>
</p><p>
  <span class="u"> <strong>Chapter 18</strong> </span>
</p><p> </p><p>Although it was hard and covered with sharp pebbles, Rapunzel, Eugene, and Cassandra had no trouble falling asleep directly on the ground. The black-haired warrior had taken a little longer because of her mistrust. She still dreaded a trap or an escape attempt from her new associates, for lack of a better term. The girl with the golden hair had seemed perfectly sincere to her, but being careful was never bad. She even considered taking advantage of their sleep to grab one of the magical weapons. However, the chameleon lying on Rapunzel's head had given her a sign that he was keeping an eye on her and she believed him capable of it. For safety, and crushed with fatigue after a day of fight, fear and frustration, Cassandra slumped into sleep, after having asked her owl to keep an eye on the others.</p><p>The sun was rising now on a pure new day full of promises. It illuminated the faces rested by a good night's sleep, including the two animals who had themselves fallen asleep and did not realize the arrival of a third one whose shadow covered Eugene and made rain iced drops on his cheek. The thief opened his eyelids to reveal the clenched teeth and fiery gaze of a wet horse he knew all too well. His mind still clouded by sleep made him speak without the slightest concern.</p><p>“Well, I hope you are here to apologize.”</p><p>The thief's scream woke up the entire group, the two ladies reflexively grabbing their weapons. Discovering Eugene being forcibly dragged by a horse surprised them enough to drop them before hasting to his aid. The thief who was screaming for help a moment before began to reconsider his request when he found himself torn between the nag that was biting his feet and the damsels ripping off his arms. The arm wrestling-like battle, punctuated by the victim's lamentations, seemed utterly ridiculous, but very amusing, to the chameleon resting on Rapunzel's head.</p><p>“Stop, Maximus!” screamed Cassandra.</p><p>That familiar voice caught the attention of the white horse, who leaped in amazement at the sight of the raven-haired warrior. Astonishment made him release the foot of his prey, which hurriedly threw itself against a tree, ready to flee at the slightest sign of resumption of hostilities. Maximus’s confused gaze shifted frantically from the thief to the ladies who spoke to him.</p><p>“Easy, boy.” whispered the blond girl with a soothing voice.</p><p>“Everything is under control.” announced Cassandra with a calm and disciplined tone.</p><p>Maximus froze in amazement, especially when a chameleon motioned for him to be quiet. There were too many unexpected things at the same time. Cassandra relaxed, before making the same bland face as the horse when she heard Rapunzel.</p><p>“Now sit!” she said with a gentle but strict voice.</p><p>The horse obeyed immediately, eyes wide, just like those of the bandit and the warrior.</p><p>“That’s a good boy!” continued Rapunzel with a childish voice, stroking the horse’s head. “Yes, you are. You must be so tired after such an hectic day, right? ”</p><p>The caresses relaxed Maximus, who nodded softly at the girl’s assumptions. She cajoled him in a maternal tone that in no way reduced the dismay of the other members of the group, less Pascal, who was not surprised at all. After a while, Cassandra exploded to express her amazement.</p><p>“What the…? What are you doing? That’s a war horse, not a dog. ”</p><p>The raven-haired lady attracted the curious glances of the girl and the said horse.</p><p>“That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve consideration and love.” declared the blond lady, with another approving nod from her new friend.</p><p>“Are you kidding?” exclaimed Eugene. “He was fighting us just a few hours ago.”</p><p>“He was just doing his job,” Rapunzel replied, hugging the animal. "I'm sure he's nice and will not bother you now."</p><p>“He has been pursuing me since yesterday! The only reason I could outrun him is because of this monster which tried to catch him.”</p><p>This sentence surprised Cassandra and shocked Rapunzel, to the point of surprising Flynn. The girl turned to the puzzled horse.</p><p>“You have faced them too?” she asked.</p><p>Maximus tensed at the memory of the colossal monster that had chased him like a cat with a little mouse. He lowered his ears and looked away, unable to look anyone in the eye. Rapunzel saw one of his legs shaking and understood what was overwhelming him. He felt a hand as soft as a feather land on him and found the impossible-haired girl giving him a look of concern and compassion.</p><p>“It's okay,” she said with a gentle voice. “I know how scary they are… I know how defenseless they can make you feel."</p><p>Maximus was a little surprised at the sincerity he perceived in her words. Cassandra too.</p><p>“But you survived,” declared Rapunzel, before hugging Maximus. “You did great, you brave boy.”</p><p>The horse's paw moved less and less as the girl stroked his back. When she released him, the young girl gave him an innocent and warm smile that he gave her back despite his dejected expression.</p><p>“Listen… Maximus, right? I know you have to arrest my friend, but things have a bit changed since yesterday. You seem to know Cassandra. She can explain to you. Isn’t it? ”</p><p>The warrior broke out of her dismay. She confirmed and approached her equine colleague, not without staring at Rapunzel for a long moment. She couldn't believe that this warm and candid girl was the same person who had managed to stand up to her and show frightening fury the night before. Cassandra walked away with Maximus and took the time to explain everything to him, while Rapunzel found Eugene staring at her with almost bulging eyes.</p><p>“What?” she asked.</p><p>“How do you manage to make everyone do exactly what you want?”</p><p>“Oh come on, she said amusedly while getting to her weapons, you make me seem like some evil genius.”</p><p>“The more I stay with you, the more I’m wondering.” he answered with a smile.</p><p>Rapunzel let out a sarcastic laugh as she raised her hand to grab her weapons resting on a root. Her gesture was interrupted by a call from Cassandra.</p><p>“I don’t want to be a drag, but you promised to not take these weapons until our deal is done.”</p><p>Rapunzel spotted the distrust beyond the politeness of the warrior. She would have been hypocritical to say that she had complete faith in the raven-haired guard, but that was a bit saddening. The young girl smiled nonetheless.</p><p>"You're right," she agreed, "but how do we transport them, then?"</p><p>“Maximus can do it,” Cassandra said.</p><p>“Um… Blondie?” called out to Eugene. “I'm not sure giving your major asset to this one is a good idea. He’s kind of a guard and, as I said, doesn’t like me at all. ”</p><p>The horse in question glared at the thief, confirming his suspicions. Rapunzel didn't want things to get too tense within this group again.</p><p>“I understand Eugene, but we need to trust each other,” she explained. “And I’m sure Maximus won’t betray our deal. He is a horse of honor. Aren’t you? ”</p><p>The horse stuck out his chest, making Cassandra roll her eyes. Rapunzel still expressed a little problem to the warrior as she grabbed her kitchen utensil.</p><p>“What about my frying pan?”</p><p>“As ridiculous as it sounds, answered Cassandra, I clearly saw this thing being used as an efficient weapon in Flynn’s hand. I prefer to guess it is as dangerous in yours. ”</p><p>Rapunzel sighed, but indicated her possessions with a welcoming smile. The guard didn't return it and didn't take their eyes off her, gazing coldly at her. She hesitated to touch the magical items the steel giant had given to this girl with endless golden hair. She effortlessly carried the pistol and pan, and with a little more difficulty the Assault Rifle, up to Maximus and tied them to his saddle with the makeshift thong Rapunzel had designed for the huge weapon.</p><p>“So, asked Rapunzel, is everything okay? Maximus is with us? ”</p><p>Cassandra joined her, as well as Maximus, but the horse had a low face.</p><p>“He’ll stay with us, confirmed Cassandra, but he doesn’t like this situation at all.”</p><p>“What a surprise…” Eugene quipped.</p><p>Maximus gave him a dark look that worried both the bandit and Rapunzel. She also spotted Cassandra's amused smile, who wished to see them jump at each other's throats. The golden-haired girl sighed in despair.</p><p>“Listen guys,” intervened Rapunzel with her back straight and a firm but pleading voice, “I know it’s not the best day for any of you. You won’t have your crown and you won’t have the bandit you pursued, and I am not looking for my mother right now, but what’s happening is more important than us.” The whole group, minus Pascal, raised an eyebrow. “These creatures which are invading Corona are a threat to everyone. Especially the innocents who are even more defenseless than us. You have all the right to not like each other, but I’m sure none of you want to let these rivalries put people in danger. Am I right? ” Cassandra had lost her smirk. Eugene was stunned. Maximus stared at the ground, scratching it with a distracted hoof. “So, please, can you stay civil with each other? Just for today, at least? ”</p><p>Eugene rubbed the back of his neck as the white horse lowered its ears and looked to Cassandra, who nodded at him. Eugene sighed and reached out to his former pursuer. Maximus lifted a hoof but still hesitated. To give a final push, and have a little fun, Rapunzel added.</p><p>“And it’s also my birthday. Just so you know. ”</p><p>Stretched like a thread, Maximus finally sighted and gave his hoof to his previous target. Rapunzel was as pleased as the two men were annoyed.</p><p>“Nice speech, declared an amused Cassandra to the young lady, “but that cheap trick was a bit ridiculous.”</p><p>“It’s not a trick,” corrected Rapunzel. “It is my birthday.”</p><p>“Really?” wondered Cassandra. “I guess it works then.”</p><p>As the two men of the group stopped shaking hands and hooves, a noise as loud as it was melodious reached everyone's ears. Attracted by the sound she had never heard before, Rapunzel moved away from the group to cross the green wall in front of her. With her back turned, Maximus took the opportunity to kick the thief in the chest with a hoof, accompanied by a kick in the back from Cassandra. The two guards joined the young girl, exchanging a mischievous smile, as Eugene tried to catch his breath.</p><p>A little further, Rapunzel's eyes were filled with stars as she discovered a mountain of bricks, tiles and paint forming a variegated city that sat enthroned on a small island, just across a huge stone bridge. For the first time in her life, she could see a city, hear the sounds of people talking, bells ringing and hooves walking. The young girl did not know whether to laugh or howl with joy. Cassandra, on the other hand, preferred to give in again to amazement.</p><p>“We were, like, one hundred meters from Corona since yesterday night and didn’t notice it?!”</p><p>No one reacted to her remark. The iron lady closely followed the girl with the long golden hair, intrigued by her fascination. She wondered if she was just pretending, but couldn't convince herself. The innocence that sparkled in her eyes was too clear and the more she studied this mysterious young woman, the less she believed her capable of lying about anything. The warrior snapped out of her observation when a flick of Owl's wing orientated her attention to Flynn and Maximus who were fighting each other like kids. The warrior caught their attention before admonishing them with a look that sent lightning bolts at them.</p><p>The bandit and the white horse reluctantly ceased hostilities and simply followed Rapunzel, who was about to pass the stone arch that served as the entrance to the city. As hypnotized by the enchanting hubbub that came from the streets, the golden-haired girl moved forward with a mechanical step, driven by curiosity and held back by fear in a perfect balance. Ready to enter this incredible place, she leapt out of her reverie when two halberds slammed in front of her, making her jump and raise a hand to her belt, but unable to find a weapon.</p><p>“Sorry miss,” apologized a slim guard in golden armor.</p><p>“We thought you had seen us,” informed another one with a handlebar mustache.</p><p>Rapunzel relaxed, but didn't know how to react. Cassandra intervenes with her own curiosity.</p><p>“Hey guys! Something's wrong? ”</p><p>“Cassandra?” exclaimed with surprise the slim one. “Thank god. The captain was worried when your men came back without you. ”</p><p>“Well I’m perfectly fine, Pete,” announced the lady warrior with a smile. “And look, I even found Maximus on the way.”</p><p>“I told you he would be okay too, Stan.” Pete boasted. "He’s too good to be in trouble."</p><p>The pride displayed by the white horse made Eugene roll his eyes, as the warrior asked, under Rapunzel's worried gaze.</p><p>“Is the city closed, now?”</p><p>“Oh no!” corrected Stan. “Your father simply asked us to make sure nobody goes out and inform those who want to enter that leaving town is forbidden for now.”</p><p>“That’s right, remembered Cassandra, the king ordered this.”</p><p>“Wait…” understood Rapunzel. “The captain of the guard is your father?”</p><p>“Yeah, I might have missed this little detail.” laughed Cassandra.</p><p>“An important little detail, I think,” informed the angry thief. “So much for the trust.”</p><p>“Excuse me, but do I know you?” asked Pete.</p><p>Eugene's heart thumped against his chest. He hurriedly stammered, his feet in position to run away quickly.</p><p>“No no! We’ve never met, I’ve never been in this city and I never even came to this kingdom before... Scout’s honor? ”</p><p>The frowns of the two guards did not reassure the bandit. Maximus himself growled to discourage him from fleeing. Cassandra realized the situation she was in. If yesterday she had found herself in a complicated situation, she now had everything in her hand. Maximus was next to Rider. Owl was ready to attack. Her two colleagues had their weapons in hand. The blond girl and the bandit were unarmed. If she wanted to, she just had to say a word or wave and she could arrest them. It was a chance for a triumphant return to the castle with the criminal who had stolen the crown and incredible weapons.</p><p>Cassandra turned her gaze to Rapunzel. She expected to see angry eyes that promised resistance, but she was surprised when, instead, she found worry and pleading. She silently asked her to keep her promise. The dark haired warrior hesitated. She exchanged a look with Owl, but he couldn't tell her what the correct answer was. Anyway, she already knew it. She sighed and declared.</p><p>“They are with me. Do not worry. Everything’s under control. ”</p><p>Eugene didn't dare relax right away. On the other hand, Cassandra saw Rapunzel express her gratitude in silence. Pete and Stan looked at each other, but finally came to attention.</p><p>“If you say so.” Pete accepted. “Welcome to Corona…”</p><p>The guard had no time to finish his sentence for the girl in the torn pink dress had thrown herself into the city. All his worries evaporated in the shadows of the houses with the colorful roofs. His feet twitched on the unknown coolness of the cobblestones. She bumped into a merchant and apologized before narrowly avoiding quacking geese. She pulled herself together involuntarily as someone walked painfully over her hair.</p><p>“Sorry, I didn’t…” Stan began before being surprised. “Wow! If I may, people say I have a long mustache but your hair, that’s something. ”</p><p>Rapunzel just laughed awkwardly as Eugene and Cassandra scrambled to pick up her golden threads before another accident happened.</p><p>“What’s the point of this actually?” asked a grumpy Cassandra taking her sword in hand. “Just let me cut it.”</p><p>Rapunzel and Eugene exclaimed quickly their disapproval before the blond girl explained.</p><p>“It's a long story but… It’s really important for me.”</p><p>“And I have a better solution,” announced Eugene before whistling to a group of little girls.</p><p>The wait was curious and long for the Iron Lady. The kids had no difficulty turning Rapunzel’s hair into a huge braid which they garnished with flowers. The girl in pink remained on her knees, patient and perfectly relaxed, throughout the operation. And no one seemed to care for more than a few seconds that there was hair several meters long in the street. For once, Cassandra and Flynn rider had one thing in common, because they both found the situation odd.</p><p>However, the lady guard noticed an atmosphere heavier than usual. The streets were ready for the lanterns’ release, but Cassandra could see in the low faces of passers-by, that some suspected something was wrong. The closure of the city had not gone unnoticed and the vagueness that the king had maintained on the nature of the danger that threatened the kingdom had made them worried. At least the warrior could have a little fun when she saw the thief awkwardly hiding in the sight of a patrol, then baring his dumbfounded face as the young girl whirled around innocently thanking the children who helped.</p><p>“I wonder if you’ll really leave when our deal is done,” she said with amusement, while Maximus and Pascal had funny faces showing they had the same question in mind.</p><p>The thief waved the question aside, before Rapunzel grabbed his hand and started running through the streets, the entire group on their heels. The girl in the pink dress had become a golden tornado that nothing could stop. At every stall or window, Rapunzel would stop with wide shining eyes to observe or compliment a new discovery. Here, bright flowers. There, a pastry with a scent of honey and chocolate. A little further, simple crunchy apples with an appetizing yellow color. Arrived on the main square, Cassandra felt it was her duty to put an end to this senseless race.</p><p>“Rapunzel, stop it!” the young girl did so with profound incomprehension. “I got it: you’re happy to be here. However, we have something to do. Right? ”</p><p>The reminder startled the girl with the golden braid, who realized the attitude she had. She let out an embarrassed laugh before staring at the ground and circling her distracted foot.</p><p>“Sorry,” she said, “it's the first time I see so many people. Did you see all those things they sell? There are all kinds of fruits or cakes. And there are beautiful arches and paintings everywhere. It’s wonderful! ”</p><p>“You exaggerate,” Cassandra replied, a bit uncertain. "It's just everyday's Corona."</p><p>“Yes! Isn’t that incredible? Waking up every morning with so many possibilities and beautiful things everywhere. I want to see everything. ”</p><p>Cassandra no longer understood who she had in front of her. The candid and energetic young girl leaping in front of her was the exact opposite of the one she had faced last night. She wondered if it was the same person. However, there was something important to do.</p><p>“Listen, interrupted the iron lady, you asked to meet our king or queen. We have made a deal. So now is not the time for this childish attitude of yours. “</p><p>Rapunzel looked down, rubbing her arm nervously. Cassandra's words made sense, but she told herself, to her own surprise, it wasn't so urgent. She who had thought herself so resolute did not know what to think. For a moment, she had felt like nothing terrible had ever happened, that it was just the way she always had been. She had made a speech to her companions to remind them of the importance of their mission and she had behaved like a child. Rapunzel was a little ashamed after this admonition. At the same time, Cassandra found Eugene staring at her, arms crossed, eyes like sharp arrows.</p><p>“You are a killjoy, you know? And I’m the one saying that.” he accused. “After what she’s been through, can’t you give her a break?”</p><p>While Rapunzel was astonished, the warrior wanted to roll her eyes, but realized that the thief was not the only one accusing her with a look. The chameleon, Maximus and even Owl seemed ready to shoot arrows with their gazes fixed on her. Cassandra moved from one to the other but wherever she looked, she found no support. She was right though. Shame was added to the doubt that dripped in her, until her mind overflowed with frustration and made her breathe a deep sigh.</p><p>“I guess I can look for them and bring one here myself.”</p><p>Rapunzel's face beamed.</p><p>“You mean ...?” she asked full of hope.</p><p>"Yeah yeah. Go run everywhere like a super energetic squirrel if you want, but don’t go too far so we… ”</p><p>The young girl didn't let Cassandra finish her sentence. She hugged the warrior so tight and picked her up so quickly that she almost kicked her reflexively. However, the thanks that the girl chirped did stop her, as well as the searing back pain her powerful grip caused. When she landed on the ground again, she had to tug her muscles a bit, put the thong of her sword back, and check the chain around her forearm.</p><p>“Stronger than I thought,” she admitted, a bit confused. “Maximus will watch over you. Remember: don’t go too far and stay vigilant. We’ll meet here. ”</p><p>“Don’t worry Killjoy!” proudly announced Eugene, while putting a hand on Rapunzel’s shoulder. “I'll watch over her.”</p><p>Cassandra looked at him deeply jaded. She turned to Maximus and announced to him.</p><p>“Owl will support you.”</p><p>Eugene got angry as the white horse nodded. Rapunzel didn't waste another second and grabbed the bandit by the arm. She began to walk the square from end to end under the amused gaze of Maximus. Cassandra couldn't help but do the same in the face of the exhilaration that emanated from the girl in pink as she leapt from one shop to another. The warrior advised her horse colleague to stay alert, then walked away down an alley leading to the castle. She walked past a dark alley without noticing the three figures hiding there. The Stabbington Brothers slowly emerged from the shadows to observe their target. The giant-haired girl was ecstatic at any stall with Rider by her side. This childish scene made them want to vomit and look away. However, their thirst for revenge kept them focused. </p><p>“So, what’s the plan?” asked the one-eyed brother to their temporary partner.</p><p>The silence that imposed itself drew the attention of the brothers to the lady behind them. The latter could not hide her worried look under her hood, nor her moving hands under her cloak. Her thoughts were muddled. She never thought she would come back to this city one day. Eighteen years avoiding it and now she stood in its noisy, labyrinthine streets where the one person she had tried to forget with all her might strayed. Why did her daughter, her real daughter, had to still live here?</p><p>“Hey! You’re with us?” asked the other brother.</p><p>Gothel jumped of surprise and without saying a word joined the two bandits. She in turn glanced towards the square and found her adopted daughter, her treasure, staring at a mosaic that made the old lady grip with anguish. The street art depicted the King and Queen with their famous missing child. She feared that by observing it, Rapunzel would realize that the baby with blonde hair and emerald eyes depicted was herself. Fortunately, true to her nature, the girl in pink had her attention diverted by a group of musicians who were trying to put smiles back on the inhabitants. In less than a minute, Rapunzel was dancing in public and drawing everyone in the square, including Rider, into her dance. The heavy atmosphere had disappeared from the streets which regained the festive vibes they should have had. While their targets were busy, the one-eyed brother looked at the old lady who anticipated his questions.</p><p>“There are many boats ready for the lantern’s release. At the right moment, you’ll get her and we’ll run away with one of them. ”</p><p>“Rider and this horse doesn’t seem ready to leave her alone.” informed the smaller brother.</p><p>“She’s just a little girl,” explained Gothel. “Just ambush them first and take her right after. The most important is to get her and leave this town before being spotted. ”</p><p>“You promised us Rider,” insisted the one-eyed brother looking harshly at her.</p><p>“It’s as you said,” added the hooded lady who looked at him. “He won’t leave her so easily. If we have the girl, you can be sure Rider will come to us. ”</p><p>“Well I hope you are right, growled the younger brother, because if not… She’s gone!”</p><p>The others hurried to look towards the square filled with dance and music. The young girl was no longer in the crowd.</p><p>“Idiots!” declared Gothel. “Go look for them. They can’t be far and the city isn’t so big. I'll wait at the harbor. ”</p><p>Although annoyed by her authoritarian tone, the Stabbington brothers approved and set off in search of the young girl through the main square. Gothel went in the opposite direction. She hugged the walls and avoided the eyes of passers-by. She made herself as small as possible and whirled around quickly when guards appeared in the street she was crossing. She glanced back as she accelerated. She had lost them, but she bumped into someone and fell on the ground. The confusion of the shock passing, she looked up with anger but quickly changed to fear.</p><p>"I'm sorry miss." apologized Cassandra. “I wasn’t looking in front of me.”</p><p>The raven-haired young woman held out her hand towards Gothel, but Gothel remained frozen, her eyes wide, her body pulled back and lips trembling. She was the same girl as yesterday. She had hoped it was just a misunderstanding. There were plenty of girls named Cassandra in the world. However, with the girl in front of her, she no longer had the slightest doubt. That night-black hair, that somewhat austere face, those big hazel eyes… It was her daughter. The one and only. Gothel, who always had a plan or an acting set ready, did not know what to do. Her mind was dumbfounded at the one she had given birth to and abandoned for a promise of longevity.</p><p>“Hmm… Are you okay?” asked the young girl.</p><p>Torn from her thoughts, Gothel stood up on her own, stammering an evasive confirmation, and took a step away to put some distance between her and the source of her confusion. Her gesture had the opposite effect as she could now look at the warrior from head to toe. From her leather boots to her short hair, and that even without the sword, everything about Cassandra expressed great strength of character. Her upright posture made her look dignified while the hook and chain around her arm gave her an intimidating aura. The smile that lit her face and the hand she put on her hip magically changed everything to create an admirable and charismatic figure.</p><p>“You should relax. I know things are a bit gloomy right now, but I and the guards are here to protect you. ”</p><p>Gothel couldn't believe her ears. That girl had managed to become a royal guard. The fear of being in front of one of them failed to break the strange awe that dawned in her. Her child had grown so much and became a wonderful woman. Cassandra found her silence a little curious and cleared her throat before starting to turn her back on the stranger.</p><p>“Well... Sorry but I have a mission right now.” she explained with a smile. “You should ask someone if you are lost. Your family may be worried. Have a nice day! ”</p><p>The warrior stomped away. Behind her back, Gothel's hand reached out for her. The hooded lady stood frozen in the middle of the street, her gaze fixed on the young woman who was walking away among the passers-by. She no longer understood what to do or what she wanted. She heard a happy voice behind her and turned around. She saw a figure in a pink dress walking into a bookstore accompanied by a young man in green. Gothel looked from the shop to the street. Her feet were ready to send her in either direction, then her eyes rested on her hand, which was covered with faint wrinkles begging to stretch out. She couldn't make one of those choices. What would she have done? Run to that young girl and tell her the whole truth? End up hated and imprisoned? Was there even a chance that she would believe her or agree to listen to her after all these years? She wasn't sure. The only certainty she had was that she would rot on site if she didn't do anything. She clenched her fist. Rapunzel would certainly stay a long time in this bookstore. Gothel ran to the streets in search of her henchmen.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Tangled Dooms</strong>
</p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 19</span>
  </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>The world was bigger than she ever imagined. Rapunzel was literally spinning while a euphoric laugh escaped her lips. The bookstore in which she had spent a wonderfully time had opened her mind to the smallness of her tower and made her want to whirl down the street. There were so many magnificent kingdoms, curious animals, multicolored flowers, treasures close at hand. She wanted to see everything, touch everything, smell everything, discover everything. Vertigo made her bare foot slid on the pavement. Her embarrassing fall was softened by her thick hair of gold and flowers and the arms of the big-hearted bandit who accompanied her.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey blondie!” Laughed Eugene. “Walking is more practical than dancing to move on, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry Eugene, '' reacted the smiling girl while getting on her feet, “I'm just so excited ...”</p><p> </p><p>“I can see that” declared Flynn. “And the menagerie too.”</p><p> </p><p>The white horse, chameleon, and owl behind them looked at the thief with angry looks that made him move backward, before relaxing when Rapunzel laughed again. The bandit appreciated more and more this little perky voice which lightened the mood like a scent of red fruit and transformed the most annoying moment into an explosion of color and joy. Rapunzel perceived a group of children repainting an old wall. The bandit guessed that she was going to apply her magic once more, but quickly grabbed her hand as she rushed towards them. Surprised by this interruption, she discovered her friend with an amused but sorry smile.</p><p> </p><p>“I think we are expected on the main square.”</p><p> </p><p>The young woman with the pink dress seemed to come out of a reverie. She turned her surprised gaze to her animal companions and found Maximus as resigned but compassionate as Eugene. Pascal was as disappointed as she was, but she had to admit, when she saw Owl and its eyes as serious as Cassandra's, that the party was about to end.</p><p> </p><p>“You're right,” she sighed, satisfied anyway. “Maybe we can settle this deal before the lantern's release.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don't worry,” declared the bandit with an amused yet authentic trust. “Knowing you, it will be settled in five minutes. Isn't it, froggy?”</p><p> </p><p>The chameleon nodded cheerfully, before realizing the nickname he had been given and having another angry look the thief ignored. The young girl rolled her eyes, grateful for Eugene's attempt to protect her good mood.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” she said hopefully, “I'm sure Cassandra already explained the situation to the king or queen. She seems like a pragmatic person. Right, Owl?”</p><p> </p><p>The little bird of prey in turn nodded. Without further ado, Rapunzel started walking towards the town's main square. By running around without thinking, she would have thought herself lost in this labyrinth of cobblestones and tiles, but she found her way around without much difficulty. All she had to do was follow the sound of the festive fanfare she had given birth to earlier. She led the way and remained at the head of the procession, despite a reluctance that slowed her steps. It was a little childish, she was well aware of it, but postponing even a little her meeting with one of Corona's sovereign gave her the feeling of postponing the end, even temporary, of this happy moment.</p><p> </p><p>For a while, she no longer had to think about all those things that weighed down her mind. No more worry, nor fear or anger. The monsters had returned to the shadows, but she had to think about finding her mother. She was still somewhere, alone. Perhaps she had returned to the tower, in which case she would see her soon, with a lot to explain and to be forgiven for. Or maybe she was lost in the woods and had to be find quickly. Cassandra and Eugene would help her, she thought. It was also possible, and she refused to think about it for a moment, that some terrible misfortune had happened to her. She had to find her mother as soon as possible. She was there.</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel froze on spot, unable to blink. A little further on, a long cloak and a large hood that she knew well was standing upright at the corner of a small alley. There were dozens of clothes like this. It was just a turn of her mind, she told herself. Only the bossy chin and the dark curls that spilled over the hood eroded her certainties. The figure swiveled to disappear behind a house.</p><p> </p><p>“Rapunzel!” Eugene screamed as she ran as fast as an arrow.</p><p> </p><p>The young girl entered a narrow hallway narrowed again by columns of boxes and barrels. At the end, the dark form disappeared once again. She continued to find her, her companions on her heels, until the trap closed on them. The instant Maximus and Flynn passed stacks of crates; the Stabbington Brothers stepped out of the shadows. Even with only one good eye, Patchy managed to perfectly calculate when to use his rope. The white horse found itself with its four hoofs gripped together and collapsed with the little green reptile. And as Sideburns grabbed Rapunzel, who found herself over his shoulder too quickly to understand what was happening, the one-eyed brother threw his fist at Flynn Rider. The blow propelled the thief against a wall and the shock drowned him in a painful fog as his assailant drew a dagger from his belt. The golden-haired girl's confusion gave way to panic at the sight of the blade. She fidgeted in all directions, but unable to free herself from the steel grip of Sideburns, who could not help but smile.</p><p> </p><p>Patchy pressed the blade against the carotid artery of the one who had betrayed them, then pain sliced through his face. The bandit stirred, howling as Owl's talons attacked his last eye. With his broad hand, he managed to repel the bird of prey, which immediately prepared to resume the assault. Sideburns called out to his brother as a passer-by stared at the scene in obvious confusion, but one that would not last long. The two bandits fled, propelled by worry and frustration, as their victim screamed and shook on Sideburns shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>Eugene shook his head and was shocked to see the situation. With an expert gesture, he freed Maximus from his rope and jumped on his saddle to start pursuing the Stabbington brothers. They had the advantage of speed, but the kidnappers were advancing through a narrow maze where it was easy for them to change direction and knock down obstacles behind them. Rapunzel was well aware of this from her position. She refused to let herself be carried away like a bag. Sideburns was too strong for her to let go, despite all the energy she put into pulling off his arm like a chain of steel.</p><p> </p><p>By the time they reached a wider street, zigzagging between passers-by, Rapunzel managed to reposition herself. The angle was correct. She propelled her knee into the bandit's chin. The shock caused him to stumble and, in his fall, Rapunzel regained her freedom. However, her huge hair blocked her view. The time to push her away, Patchy towered over her. Rapunzel threw her fist to his face, but he intercepted it without difficulty before grabbing her wrist and twisting her frail arm. Taken by this arm lock, Rapunzel tried again to strike Patchy with her elbow, but without causing any reaction painful enough to free her. She stopped when the bandit's cold blade froze her throat. Her friends stopped in front of the bandits, as did the crowd of stunned passers-by at the sight of this hostage-taking.</p><p> </p><p>“Leave her alone! It's between you and me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not anymore Rider,” the one-eyed man replied, gritting his teeth.</p><p> </p><p>The shocked citizens backed away, in a mixture of dread and fascination, as Maximus and Pascal stared at the bandits with the same anger as Eugene. Owl landed on the latter's shoulder, wings half-spread. The bird of prey was ready to attack, but so was Patchy's hand to cut a vein of the young girl. Frustration boiled even more among the barking bandits.</p><p> </p><p>“I'm tired of this!” yelled Sideburns, masking the cracking noise behind him. “First, the crown. Now, this girl. Why do you have to make everything more complicate, Rider?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, declared the thief, quite amused, this time it's more like the bird's fault.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don't get any closer!” the one-eyed man warned as Maximus moved a hoof. “And you, don't even think about using these things behind you.”</p><p> </p><p>Eugene left his arms exposed, giving up on grasping the small magical weapon hanging from Maximus' saddle. For a one-eyed man, Patchy was very vigilant. Most of the civilians had already fled to warn the guard. The Stabbington brothers were aware of this and it strained them even more, to the point of making Patchy force a little more on Rapunzel's arm and make her have a hiccup of pain.</p><p> </p><p>“Let me go!” screamed the girl in pink.</p><p> </p><p>“Not a chance,” answered Patchy. “Not after all the complications we had.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you don't want her beautiful skin to be tainted red, warn the second brother, you better leave us…”</p><p> </p><p>The sentence ended when a whistle accompanied by a red glow cut it. Under the gaze of his brother, Eugene, the animals and all the civilians present, Sideburns' face froze with a wide gaze. A red streak had splashed across Rapunzel's face. Another trickled down Sideburns neck, before his head fell and rolled onto the pavement. His massive body with a red geyser fell to reveal a high-pitched howling ophidian horror.</p><p> </p><p>The civilians fled screaming. Patchy threw the young girl away and stepped back in fear. The words jostled in his mind and throat. The horned snake-like monster stared at him. His brother was dead. His hand was waving the dagger. As Rapunzel ran over to her friends, her eyes dripping with fear, the whiplash made a quick gesture that projected a glowing arc at Patchy. His old reflexes made him jump back, but when he wanted to point his blade at the monster, he found it was still in his hand, and that his hand was on the ground. He only realized after that that he had only a red stump and a searing pain at the end of his arm.</p><p> </p><p>When his mind finally calculated his condition, Patchy screamed. Enough to cover the burst of a red lightning behind him summoning a skeletal man with red eyes and tattered peasant clothes. His scream ended as quickly as his brother's words when the zombie pounced on him to rip his throat out. Flesh dangled from the jaws of the undead like threads of a roast as Patchy's twitching corpse collapsed on the pavement.</p><p> </p><p>The whiplash searched for its new target. Its small eyes fell on the white horse and his steed, now on the ground, but hardly did he spot them when the latter launched a green projectile that grazed its left mandible. Another slammed into its face and prompted the demon to crawl quickly to get out of the way. Once at a good distance, he discovered the young man dismounted from the horse with the pistol in hand. He shot it again, but the whiplash moved aside. Eugene was preparing to strafe him when a golden form rose between him and the demon.</p><p> </p><p>The creature screamed at the girl. She remained unmoved. More lightning revealed new zombies. Rapunzel did not move, which puzzled her friends. The girl turned and coldly pushed Eugene to untie something from Maximus' saddle. The young girl took the Assault Rifle in both hands. When she spun around to Eugene, the young man discovered, with a shiver that ran through his entire body, the other Rapunzel. There was no more joy, compassion, or innocence. There was no more warm light in her eyes. They had grown cold and piercing like ice picks on a stone face.</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel orientated and took a few precise steps toward the wall of fangs and blades. Eugene wanted to call her out, but he paused. The girl's body was straight as a spear, motionless as a blade. He had probably only imagined that a strand of gold had moved. Several screams echoed, without provoking from her the slightest reaction. She was far from home. She did not know where her mother was. For the first time in her life, she had made friends, had fun, discovered a city, sing and dance with people… And it was her birthday.</p><p> </p><p>“Coming today…” she declared with a cold voice. “That was a huge mistake.”</p><p> </p><p>The whiplash howled. The zombies howled. Rapunzel howled. The cannons howled.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The main square still echoed the sound of the orchestra and the dance steps of the crowd, under the relieved gaze of its queen. The Sovereign was not sure that the hood she was wearing was necessary. People whirled around to the rhythm of lively and cheerful music. They were having too much fun to notice her. She still had to keep a low profile to not attract attention. The guard named Cassandra had insisted.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the happiness she was delighted to see in her people, the whole situation prevented Queen Arianna from smiling. Her husband had locked himself in with the captain of the guard to strategize and respond to this invasion of monsters that said Cassandra had reported to them. Negotiating with those who had stolen the crown of their dear daughter reviled her to the utmost, but she was the queen. Facing such a situation, she had to think about what was good for her people. If these thieves could bring them the last memory of her daughter and some seemingly magical help against these loathsome creatures, she had to take it on herself to accept it.</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra had explained the details of the deal made with this mysterious girl in pink. Her name was Rapunzel apparently, like her daughter. A coincidence that was not funny today. It had been eighteen years since her child had disappeared and she had prayed for her the day the lanterns were released. She had to promise this person to let Flynn Rider go when she would bring back the crown. After that, she would use her strange tools, inherited from that iron giant Cassandra had talked about, to protect the kingdom. A crazy story she thought, but not a bad deal in the end.</p><p> </p><p>“Damn it! Where are they?” growled Cassandra, tapping with her foot. “I swear, if she got lost after chasing a butterfly or whatever…”</p><p> </p><p>The warrior sighed in frustration before apologizing to her queen for the wait. The sovereign thought for a moment before asking.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure she's reliable?”</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra understood the monarch's doubts, but remembering the short time spent with Rapunzel, her answer was certain.</p><p> </p><p>“She is. Trust me, your highness.”</p><p> </p><p>She did not know Cassandra well, but Queen Arianna could see how confident she was. She could not hope for better now and resigned herself to waiting. At least she could appreciate the sight of her people partying, despite the situation. Until the melody derailed when a group arrived screaming. All the joy in the central plaza had been replaced by confusion as men and women bluntly pushed everyone on their way.</p><p> </p><p>Among them, Cassandra spotted someone with the same type of hood as the queen. This person was also fleeing but was pushed back like the others and thrown to the ground. The warrior and her sovereign ran to help her up. Cassandra had recognized this person with the austere face and dark curls. Her face, already marked with improbable terror, froze at the sight of those who had helped her.</p><p> </p><p>“What's happening?” asked Cassandra.</p><p> </p><p>As if seized with a new fright, the lady with the dark curls leaps to get away from the queen and the guard before resuming her frantic race in the middle of the passers-by. As Cassandra was about to call out to her, a thunderclap she recognized froze her mind and caught the queen's gaze. What she saw made her doubt that she was awake. From the street came people with red eyes and mouths, and a scarlet-skinned creature had clung to a stone wall with its yellow claws. A woman in a blue dress was fleeing this infernal group, crying for help. She was holding the hand of her little girl with large silky curls who was struggling to follow her.</p><p> </p><p>As they get close to the queen, the sovereign about to step aside to let them pass, a mass of flesh fell from the sky and stopped the mother and her child. She no longer screamed, and the queen could see why. No cry could spring from a chest impaled by a blade the size of an arm. The monster's arm was the blade. The child screamed to call for her mother, but she could not turn her head, or even blink. The creature, however, did. A quick gesture and the queen saw the child's head got separate in two. The queen was dumbfounded. It must have been a nightmare.</p><p> </p><p>The gargoyle looked with its yellow eyes to the queen. Arianna still was not moving. There was nothing real about it. The monster cried out again, drawing its blade from the body of the deceased mother. Its legs propelled it towards the queen. His flight was interrupted by a hook that stuck in its throat. The chain that held the steel appendage knocked the creature to the ground before it was beheaded by Cassandra's blade.</p><p> </p><p>Arianna heard the warrior's voice calling her, but she mostly heard the screams of the people around her. There were guards whose spears pierced red thoraxes from which shrill screams escaped, before the soldiers themselves screamed when a ball of fire set their bodies ablaze. A man was screaming when a red-eyed human tore his arm off while another tore his stomach apart. Another guard managed to slash a zombie with a sword, then another, then died when a monster appeared in his back in a purple cloud and pierced his heart with its claws, piercing through his armor as if it were nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“Your highness!” yelled Cassandra. “We must run!”</p><p> </p><p>The sovereign felt her taking her hand and let herself be carried by the warrior towards a street which would make them leave the place. Cassandra had to bring her back to the castle, or at least find a safe place. She did not have time to think about anything else, not even Rapunzel. The young girl had shown that she knew how to defend herself and hoped that her infatuation with Corona had not changed that. Cassandra focused on the path in front of her and the person she needed to protect. Scarlet lightning struck the ground in front of her and revealed a misshapen colossus with protruding muscles.</p><p> </p><p>The Hell Knight raised his giant fist and Cassandra propelled herself with the queen to avoid it. The fall shook Arianna enough to bring her back to the gruesome reality. The blood rushed to her head and made her scream. As the sovereign leaned against a wall in absolute panic, Cassandra stood up with a determination that she kept despite the fear. Sword in one hand, chain in the other, Cassandra dodged another assault from the colossus. With a flick of the wrist, her hook cut into the creature's eye. The warrior dodged a punch and the next one was interrupted by a cry of pain from the Hell Knight. Cassandra spotted out of the corner of her eye an unshaven guard who had stuck his spear in the monster's side and took advantage of this moment to throw her blade into the skull of her opponent.</p><p> </p><p>The creature, its brain pierced, collapsed, but Cassandra did not relax. She heard the screams of other fleeing civilians behind her and saw a skeletal-faced zombie casting light with a metallic arm. Its beam of energy left only a huge automatically cauterized hole in the bodies of the innocents it touched. She didn't have time to be alarmed because one of these steel snakes with piercing horns appeared among the severed and deformed bodies. The creature was focusing on Cassandra. She couldn't turn her back on him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, you!” she screamed to the guard who helped her. “Bring the queen to safety!”</p><p> </p><p>Delighted to obey, the soldier seizes the hand of his sovereign and fled with her in the streets flooded with cries and blood. The Iron Lady faced the snake demon who growled enviously. She let her own chain slip through her fingers. The hook snapped against the pavement. Cassandra had only managed to get it over the corpse of one of those things, shot down by the unknown steel warrior. This time, she would not be the prey.</p><p> </p><p>The whiplash threw one ofits flaming chains at the girl. She lowered her head, lost a strand of her heated hairs, and threw her arm skyward. Her gesture dragged her steel whip towards the monster and slashed its face. This unforeseen pain enraged the monster who swung his second chain like a meteor. Cassandra deflected its trajectory with a move of her sword and secured her position with a sidestep. She threw the steel rope in a large horizontal gesture. The steel snake saw the hooked projectile out of the corner of its eye. He bent down and pulled his slender body away in time to avoid it, but not without losing the tip of a horn. Without interrupting her gestures, with surgical precision, Cassandra swiveled her arm so that her hook continued on its way. A quick gesture and she pricked the hook towards the demon which was finishing to position itself. The steel talon planted itself in the skull of the howling beast. Without waiting, the Iron Lady pulled on her chain with all her might to force her enemy to collapse. The latter crashed into the pavement and screamed as its opponent rushed towards it. Cassandra had reduced the distance between her and the demon and spotted at the last moment that the demon was throwing one of its glowing chains towards her.</p><p> </p><p>In a saving reflex, the warrior stomped her foot to push her body back and avoided death with a chilling gash under her neck that severed her shirt and skin. The pain stunned the young woman, giving the demon time to lift its slender body and clawed arm. Caught up in the flow of survival instinct, the Iron Lady rolled around as fast as the wind, landing behind the creature. Her intuition, focused on the death of her enemy, accentuated by rage and pain, made her pull on her chain. Her prey was carried back, unbalanced by this gesture, while Cassandra rotated, holding her blade in both hands. Anger suppressed all resistance as the sword chopped off the monster's head. The mass of flesh and steel twitched as its head, scarred by the hook that had let go, twitched and moved away in a clumsy roll. A spray of blood projected from its visible arteries splashed on Cassandra's cheek. This dampness, proof of her victory finally deserved, drew an unconscious smile on the Iron Lady's face, until a terrible blow, accompanied by a swine cry, threw her body against a stone wall.</p><p> </p><p>The shock shattered her bones and made Cassandra cough up blood. Her body was a bag of rusty nails piercing its fabric. She forced herself to open her eyes again to find a caricature of a pinkish boar that could only come out of a madman's imagination. The creature stared at her, rubbing the ground with a bubbling foot. The warrior tried to stand up, but her leg was painful and slipped. Her blade was within reach, but she would end up mashed the moment her metal sting would pierce the monster's skin. Cassandra still had her chain. Her hazy gaze caught sight of the zombie with the magical arm a little further on, ready to shoot a young man in blue. The Pinkie let out another high-pitched scream and threw itself towards its victim. The warrior quickly raised her arm. Her hook caught on a bit of the living dead's flesh. The earth shook closer and closer to Cassandra. She pulled her arm, and the cannon deflected to shoot its beam of fire against the Pinkie's side. The burst of light tripped the disoriented demonic pig. The warrior leaned aside to retrieve her blade and, propelled by fury, leaned on one of her legs for the best possible angle. Her position forced to stability; her blade slipped into the creature's eye to exit through the other.</p><p> </p><p>A crash behind her made her discover one of those bats with sharp arms. She drew on her sword, but it refused to come out of the Pinkie's skull. The winged beast waved its arm and Cassandra could not avoid a blow from the flat part of the rusty blade in the face that made her drop her weapon. The warrior's skull was a bell that rang too loudly and squeezed her brain in pain. She shook her head, but only noticed that someone was pulling on her arm. Her chain was still hooked to the zombie she had been using and it was pulling with an unexpected force that prevented Cassandra from moving. The young woman froze when the scream of the gargoyle caught her attention and made her discover its mouth ready to devour her face.</p><p> </p><p>The monster's head was deflected by a blow from a large piece of wood held by a hooded figure. Cassandra reacted in a second. She pulled the chain with both hands to knock over the zombie before throwing herself on her sword. The Iron Lady screamed, pulling her blade from the rock of meat to brutally decapitate the flying monster before piercing the zombie's chest. Both creatures had stopped moving. Cassandra's mind settled down. She brought air back to her lungs, before turning her gaze to the one who had saved her life. She recognized the lady with the long black curls, her severe face, and her eyes constantly wide.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” Cassandra whispered.</p><p> </p><p>Gothel jumped. She only seemed to realize now what she had done, what she had in hand. She let go of her improvised club. She was shaking with fear as she forgot about the monsters around her and didn't notice the blood staining Cassandra's face and shirt. Even in the midst of hell, she dreaded her child's voice more than the fangs of monsters. A cry for help called out to the raven-haired warrior before she addressed the unknown lady again.</p><p> </p><p>“Get away quickly!” commanded Cassandra before rushing to the streets.</p><p> </p><p>Gothel didn't know what to think anymore. Her daughter had fought like a lioness. She didn't hesitate or tremble in the face of death. She always wanted to fight and ran to help someone with incredible courage. Gothel couldn't understand why she was feeling so good at this moment, or why she had risked facing these abominable creatures with just a piece of wood. She could have died, like everyone around her. She spun around, her body electrified, unable to stand still in the face of the corpses that surrounded her. Everywhere she looked, she saw nothing but lakes of blood, torn pulpits, torn arms, and faces twisted with fear or pain, when they weren't simply divided into pieces whose brains and teeth leaked. She didn't want to end up like this. She didn't want to die. She didn't want to rot. Never. Gothel threw herself into another street. She had to find Rapunzel.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Ten. Queen Arianna had seen ten people die between here and the main square. An old man who couldn't run. A little girl and her brother who had failed to protect her. A fat woman who had tripped. Another, with a bun undone while she was running. And five guards with indisputable bravery and whose blades had parried blows and cut limbs before disappearing under the waves of bloodthirsty creatures. Their armor, weapons, courage and devotion were all shattered by the claws, fangs and fists of the monsters.</p><p> </p><p>Eleven. The guard holding her hand stopped between her and a zombie that had just shattered the skull of an old woman with a basket full of fresh bread. The red-eyed undead turned hissing at Arianna and her protector. Despite the fear shaking his body, the guard let go of the queen and pushed her back. He grabbed his sword in both hands to assert his grip and brought it down on the monster. The latter's head leaps away.</p><p> </p><p>“The castle isn't far now.” he told his queen. “Let's…”</p><p> </p><p>An explosion of fire broke his voice. When the queen recovered from her flight and her shock against a house, she realized that it had also shattered his body into flaming shreds, exploded entrails and reddened pieces of bone. She felt the wetness that ran through her body and discovered her beautiful purple dress covered with red spots, soft filaments and a half-deflated white globe. Panic made her scream and wave her hands to get rid of that organic trashes, before screaming again when her gaze fell on her protector's murderer: a flying steel-armored skeleton.</p><p> </p><p>When the Specter turned its white eyes to her, Arianna stood up with a rush that almost made her fell before fleeing in the direction that would take her as far as possible from this demon. Her footsteps pushed at maximum speed brought her to a square with a fountain. A place she usually found so calming. But now, the first thing she discovered was a man with a well-trimmed beard whose chest was being opened like an old cupboard by the sharp fingers of an Imp who was emptying it. Wanting to get away from it, the queen slipped on a puddle of blood and brains which made her skull plunged towards the edge of the fountain. The pain made her ears hiss and clouded her sight. Everything was blurry and her skull was caught in a vise. The queen leaned on the fountain, filled with a red ocean on which floated a fleshy island. A high-pitched noise intensified her headache. She turned her head to find herself facing two gigantic figures growing up. Her eyes regained their stability to reveal the skeleton and the red monster screaming at each other to know which one would tear her to small pieces. The Imp ended up turning his yellow eyes to her and taking her breath away.</p><p> </p><p>A feather arrow flew at the demon's face and made him back down, screaming at this assault. Behind it, the skeleton was thrown to the ground by the kick of a white horse. The Specter tried to stand up, but a ball of green light exploded its bleeding skull. The remaining demon pushed aside the bird of prey that had clawed his face with a restless hand, but in turn backed away with a rain of metal accompanied by the sound of lightning that made sprays of blood leap from its chest. When they broke off, the beast barely had time to see the one that had attacked it when a frying pan hit its head. The kitchen utensil hit him a second time, shattering the back of his neck as it threw the monster back.</p><p> </p><p>The queen, lost in this whirlwind of blood and shards, stared up at the superhuman who had saved her life. At first surprised by a shapeless mass of gold, flowers, and blood, she discovered that this improbable hair was accompanied by the stained face of a young girl who was trying to catch her breath. The latter knelt beside the queen, looking around her. While her companions, a man throwing magic projectiles, a horse that reminded her of something, and a lightning-quick owl. The girl in the pink dress, though red in places and partially torn, interacted with a disproportionate block of metal from which she took out a gray compartment, replacing it with another one with a mechanical click. The Queen was too confused to try to make sense of what she was seeing. She reacted nonetheless when the young girl wiped the sweat and blood from her paradoxically innocence face. She remained paralyzed when she turned her green like a forgotten forest eyes to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” she asked, sincerely worried.</p><p> </p><p>Arianna didn't answer. Not because she reminded her of Cassandra's description of the thief's mysterious friend. That silky blond hair, those little green pupils, that face with prominent cheekbones, awakened another memory atrophied by time. Warm feelings intensified as she delved into that thoughtful and stoic gaze. Before she could utter a single word, the voice of the young man with the magic weapon called out to the warrior to warn her that other monsters were in the street he was entering in.</p><p> </p><p>“Hide somewhere quickly,” commanded the lady in pink, before running with her big weapon.</p><p> </p><p>Dread and disbelief blocked the queen. She saw the girl leave the place, without taking her eyes off her. There was no one left but her in the square with a fountain. No one alive. Despite the unusual screams and din that echoed throughout town, Arianna couldn't move. All her energy was focused on finding that face in her memories. Her mind did a lot of efforts but couldn't. Who was this girl?</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was her last cartridge clip. There were too many monsters left. However, her aim was precise and her advance, unstoppable. Eugene was firing at one of those fat steel-armed ogres. His projectiles couldn't pierce its thick skin, but the distraction caught his attention. Rapunzel was staring at the beast, her irises as deep as the barrel of her gun. She pulled the trigger. Her weapon stabilized by her firm grip and her feet anchored in the stone, none of her bullets missed the face of the Mancubus which melted under the iron rain. The now brainless mass of flesh collapsed to reveal Maximus smashing a Carcass's head against a wall with his red hooves. The girl heard a scream behind her, swiveled one hundred and eighty degrees and pointed the Assault Rifle at a flaming skull floating in the air. There were three others. They were shaking and Rapunzel guessed what would happen.</p><p> </p><p>“Get down!” she yelled.</p><p> </p><p>The warrior in the pink dress did so. The white horse too, but Eugene barely avoided the flying skulls. Flames licked his shirt and caused him to stir to extinguish the fire. Maximus was forced to face a new enemy whose fiery blades could be dodged only thanks to Owl's assaults on the creature's ember eyes. Rapunzel blasted the Lost Souls with her Assault Rifle before targeting the Dread Knight. The steel shoulders stopped the projectiles but allowed Maximus to use a moment of inattention to push the monster back with a kick in the chest. Eugene managed to extinguish the flames on his garment and shot at the Dread Knight. Enraged by these assaults, the demon seized a cart and threw it like a toy towards the young woman who dodged it in a perfect roll that made her finish it on her own two feet.</p><p> </p><p>The cart separated Rapunzel from her friends. These beasts left them no respite and opposed her more and more resistance. A strand of her golden hair quivered. She was about to skirt it when she heard a voice that caught her full attention and waved aside the danger Eugene and Maximus were in. The young girl swiveled to what she hoped to be the source of that voice and to find out exactly what she had hoped to find. Her mother was standing in an alley and calling her. At first frozen with uncertainty, Rapunzel let go of her gun and, her frying pan beating against her thigh, ran into the arms of the one she had worried about so much.</p><p> </p><p>“Mother!” she cried. “I was so worried. Where...?”</p><p> </p><p>“No time for this my child,” interrupted Gothel, taking her hand firmly. “We need to leave this city.”</p><p> </p><p>Surprised by this order, although understandable, Rapunzel resisted her mother who tried to lure her into the alley.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait!” objected Rapunzel. “We can't leave like this. My friends need me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Don't be ridiculous. This city is hell itself!”</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel shook off her mother's grip and said with a calm voice that surprised Gothel.</p><p> </p><p>“Mother, I understand why you kept me in this tower now. You were right, the outside world is horrible, full of awful things like these monsters, but now I can defend myself. I have weapons and friends to help me. And I can't leave them like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel pleaded to her mother with a look of hope.</p><p> </p><p>“Please!” she asked. “I need you to trust...”</p><p> </p><p>A metallic blow hit Rapunzel. While she was talking, Gothel had quickly grabbed the pan hanging from her daughter's belt and knocked hard enough to throw her against a wall. The combination of the two shocks stunned the young girl who collapsed against the pavement. Gothel had no time to waste with this nonsense. She had no intention of letting her precious treasures risk her life unnecessarily, especially for the one who had taken her away from her refuge. If anything happened to her, she would start to decompose again. Gothel carried the young girl on her back and fled at full speed in the small streets which would lead her to the boat, while Eugene was calling for Rapunzel when a Cacodemon appeared, accompanied by a group of Imps. The red tide did not stop. The sky was covered by clouds of gargoyles. The streets were full of deafening cries and the walls were covered with traces of claws and bloodstains. Corona could not resist this army.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Tangled Dooms</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>
    <span class="u">Chapter 20</span>
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</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Confusion was the first feeling that came over Rapunzel when she woke up. For the first time in her life, it was not sunshine or a chameleon's paw that wake her up, but her blazing brain knocking against her skull. Opening her eyes full of stars, she did not understand where she was. This uncertainty accelerated her awakening to discover herself floating above a ground covered with grass which testified she was not in the city anymore. The young girl tried to figure out where she was but could not do more than fidget like a worm. Her hands were trapped behind her back by freezing ties. Her feet, by something scratching her skin. Her mouth was blocked by a fabric which prevented her from breathing correctly and expressing the slightest word. Rapunzel moved in panic and provoked a moan which froze her like a slap.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop moving!” complained her mother.</p><p> </p><p>When the young girl clearly understood her situation, her last memories came back to her mind at the rhythm of her migraine: The city invaded by monsters. Her friends who were fighting by her side. Her mother appearing in a small alley. The joy of finally finding her, then the pain of the metal against her head. She refused to believe the movement of her mother's arm just before that last moment of lucidity. Rapunzel mumbled a flood of panicked questions that the silk barrier against her confused lips. She moved her arms but only succeeded in causing the clicking of rusty iron links locking her hands behind her back. She paused as her body felt with a lack of delicacy against a trunk that rekindled her headache.</p><p> </p><p>“Rapunzel, I know you are troubled by all of this, but you must understand that I'm doing this for your own good.”</p><p> </p><p>The girl in pink was frozen by what was before her eyes. Each movement of her mother's lips was too quick and accompanied by arms thrown around in broad gestures, like they were controlled by a manipulator who did not know how to hide the artificiality of this act. Her veneer of maternal concern was crumbling under Gothel's terror.</p><p> </p><p>“This city is lost. There were monsters everywhere. We need to go as far as possible. There are other kingdoms, with perfect places to hide in the middle of vast and wild lands.”</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel was dumbfounded. Never had she seen her mother so twisted and wriggling. It was normal for her mother to worry about her. She loved her after all. So why did it all seem wrong now?</p><p> </p><p>“We'll find a good hideout, far from the world. Where no one will find you. Somewhere far from any ears. Why not a cave? What do you think? A good cozy cave where you will be able to sing without worrying about being heard by anyone except your dear mother. That's perfect.”</p><p> </p><p>Gothel's thin, hooked fingers caressed her daughter's precious hair carefully. Her piercing gaze glided over the golden waterfall without granting an eye to Rapunzel. The girl in pink stood frozen with incomprehension. Her mother's worry made her blood run cold. And despite her wide eyes, she couldn't find her mother behind that stretched mask and that sour voice.</p><p> </p><p>Gothel hastily lifted her precious baggage paralyzed by fear and iron. Over her mother's shoulder, the young girl could no longer think. As she tried to put this situation in order, Gothel's footsteps plunged her more and more into the shade of the trees. The young girl didn't need to think about where she was going.</p><p> </p><p>“We'll just take what we need at the tower,” confirmed Gothel with a nervous voice. “Just what we need. Some food. Some water. Clothes? Maybe. We don't need a comb actually. I just need her and… protecting her. Just her. Alive. Safe.”</p><p> </p><p>Rapunzel's mind bumped into a wall of denial and ignorance as she was forcibly dragged back to her home. Why had the person who loved her the most in the world attack her? Why had she take her away? Why was she mumbling: I refuse to rot?</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
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</div><p> </p><p>The city of Corona echoed with dozens of savage howls in a puddle of terror that contaminated all who heard it. The horror was punctuated by guttural cries, some of rage, others of pain. No street were devoid of blood and guts. Soldiers, peasants, craftsmen, wives, children, old people… The demons did not make the slightest distinction between the bags of meat running everywhere. Their fangs and claws cut through everything that passed before their fiery eyes.</p><p> </p><p>A young woman in a sky-blue dress, now spotted with red, tried to escape a grimacing cacodemon by passing through the town's main square. She couldn't help but look back hoping to be further away from the creature. Each time without success. Her panicked steps struck a mass which knocked her over. Past the pain of the shock against the stone, she cried out as she discovered herself in the pool of hemoglobin formed by a group of guards in broken golden armor. The growl in her back forced her to turn and back away as she dragged herself along the ground facing a huge mouth and a green eye piercing her soul. The maiden screamed as the demon's mouth opened.</p><p> </p><p>A clicking sound followed by a hiss and then a knock against the cacodemon's face interrupted his assault. A bolt planted in its cheek; the demon turned slowly in the direction of its attacker. Too slow to see the steel claw that flew up to his eye to grip it. Its initial howl of pain rose in volume as the hook pulled forcefully until the eye popped out of its socket. The demon's mass fell with the softness of an old piece of meat on the pavement, under the confused eyes of its former prey. She turned to the person who had saved her and discovered a woman with ebony hair, hunched over under the weight of exhaustion and breathing too fast.</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra only had time to cast a reassured glance at the civilian she had barely saved before hearing new squeaky voices and electric explosions. A Revenant screamed at her, throwing the skull of a now uninteresting victim. A newly emerged Imp contented itself with targeting her, uninterested in the world he had landed in. A cacodemon finished descending from the sky. Cassandra clenched her teeth and fists before awkwardly unsheathing her sword. The vision of the warrior was starting to blur. Her face was a salty waterfall. Each of her muscles were ropes ready to burst. Her lungs were shaking, and her heart was caught in a prickly vice.</p><p> </p><p>The Imp threw a fireball at her, which she dodged by bending herself a bit. The weight of exhaustion made her trip, but she planted her foot and took advantage of the momentum to rush towards her enemies. Cassandra's chain was thrown at the Revenant to hook its shoulder cannon aimed at her. She jumped to unbalance the demon and rush towards the Imp in which Cassandra planted her sword. The moment she pulled her blade out of its red flesh, she discovered a mass too fuzzy to make her react. It was too late when the Revenant's fist hit her jaw. The warrior fluttered in a whirlwind of pain that intensified as she crashed against the cobblestones.</p><p> </p><p>The Iron Lady hurriedly pushed on an arm that trembled as she began to cough. New drops of blood felt on the red lakes. A hoarse noise awakened a reflex that made her roll onto her side and narrowly avoid a ball of energy spat out by the cacodemon. The impact was nevertheless close enough to throw Cassandra once again like an old toy. The warrior slammed a desensitized fist to the ground and stood up with a determination her body struggled to keep up with. She spotted the Revenant, ready to fire, the chain still attached to it.</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra made a large gesture of the arm which made the links of her chain dance over the demon's bare skull and encircled her neck. The confusion caused by this steel embrace gave the warrior lady time to rush towards the monster and use her sword to cut its arm. The pain of the wound gave her the second she needed to trip it up, causing the armored skeleton to collapse. It didn't have time to scream as a boot rose up and hit his head like a meteor.</p><p> </p><p>The cry of the cacodemon caught the attention of the Iron Lady the instant it moved towards her with its mouth wide open. Cassandra rolled, but collapsed halfway and felt to the ground. She barely managed to wriggle her muscle mass as her lead-heavy head only allowed her to see the cacodemon swiveling towards her, its sole eye narrowed in frustration. The young woman leaned against the ground with all her strength. She didn't have anymore. Her hands slid on the blood and her chin hit the reddened stone. Unclear stars danced before her eyes as the monster's fangs approached.</p><p> </p><p>Her mind received a boost when a deluge of sparks attacked the face of the monstrous sphere. When the storm cleared, the warrior tugged at her arm and propelled it, sword in hand, into the monster's eye. The demon's agony was noisy but resulted in the creature finally collapsing. The sore young woman let go of the wrist of her sword and tried to find the shooter. She spotted something surprising that approached her with a rapid step despite an irregular breath.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it's a dumb question but: Are you alright?” asked Flynn Rider, the Assault Rifle balancing in one hand, the others offering help to Cassandra.</p><p> </p><p>At first lost and hesitant, the warrior with the torn body grabbed the bandit's helping arm and leaned on him to get on her own two legs. In a new reflex, she looked at the area with a mechanical gaze. Aside from Maximus who exploded the head of an Imp distracted by Owl, she didn't spot a single monster. Howls continued to rise in the streets, however. As the absence of creatures allowed her to breathe again, one particular person missing aroused her concern.</p><p> </p><p>“Where's Rapunzel?” she asked. “Why do you have her weapon?”</p><p> </p><p>The bandit took back the Assault Rifle and in turn looked everywhere, ready to shoot. He answered her as Maximus joined them, his hooves covered in blood and a frying pan between his teeth.</p><p> </p><p>“I don't know. She disappeared while we were fighting these monsters. I only found this thing and her frying pan.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you look for her?” asked Cassandra while taking her sword out of the cacodemon.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, but it's not really the best moment for investigations.”</p><p> </p><p>The Iron Lady was taken aback by this disappearance. She did not believe Rapunzel capable of letting her friends down, even in the middle of this hell, and certainly not without her weapon. She had seen too much bravery and determination in her eyes when they faced the giant of the dam or during their altercation last night. However, she did not see any other explanation apart from her being caught by a demon. Before she could ask for more, lightning struck behind the group and revealed a hellknight ready to assault. The storm exploded and three zombies joined it, followed by a prowler, a carcass, and two gargoyles. The instinct for survival made the group gather into a block surrounded by the fangs and savagery of the demons.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you keep on fighting?” asked Flynn in a mix of concern for her and himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Don't worry,” answered Cassandra, taking a deep breath, clutching her sword and chain.</p><p> </p><p>Humans and animals did not have the leisure to observe their adversaries. The hell knight was already attacking with a great leap carrying two fists like meteors. The group dispersed to evade this assault. The warhorse rushed against the Carcass which caused a blue barrier to appear in front of its assailant. Maximus squeezed his muscles and leaped over the obstacle and its creator. The demon swiveled on its steel legs, which brought its face in the path of the bucking horse. That demon down, Maximus, his eyes bloodshot, raised his hooves as high as possible so that maximum power fell on the fat creature. Then spurts of blood formed a red star on the pavement.</p><p> </p><p>While Owl had thrown himself all talons out in the face of the Prowler, Flynn had strafed the flying demons with the Assault Rifle. His first salvo was dodged by their aerial spin, but the bandit corrected his aim and lodged a hail of bullets in one of them. The creature fell against the cobblestone as the shooter turned the Rifle towards the second. He pulled the trigger. The weapon made only a timid click.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?!” screamed the thief before jumping to avoid an acid projectile.</p><p> </p><p>Rider let go of the Rifle and took the Pistol on his belt. However, he had to leap again when a rusty blade entered his field of vision. The cry of the gargoyles that had fallen just before did not impress him this time. It was the thousandth of the day it seemed to him. The bandit threw his foot into the monster's jaw, which fell back, before shooting it several times in the head until it exploded. When he returned the weapon to the sky, a comet of flesh and fang struck him. Eugene cried out from his chest crushed between the stone floor and the creature trying to eat his face. The thief tried to push him away with both arms, but the creature gave him no respite. It raised one of its blades and the prey saw his life reflecting in the bloody metal.</p><p> </p><p>A snap was followed by the howls of the beast which had lost the arm it was going to use. Flynn promptly pushed the injured monster away and blasted his brains out with a well-placed shot. He spotted with relief Cassandra who was finishing pulling back the hook chain that had saved his life. The warrior lady had defeated the three zombies. However, a purple cloud exploded behind her and a clawed hand appeared. Flynn shot reflexively, not taking the time to aim. His green projectile grazed the warrior lady closely and missed the Prowler, but the surprise interrupted the monster's assault. With a direct understanding of the situation, Cassandra spun around and slid her blade down to the demon's throat which gurgled as blood squirted from its gaping arteries.</p><p> </p><p>The chest covered in red, the Iron Lady raised her blade slower than usual and executed her enemy with a blade stuck in its skull. She struggled to pull it out and Flynn found the hellknight chasing Maximus. Owl attacked its face but the beast threw the bird against a wall with a quick and powerful gesture. The owl stunned by this brutal projection; Maximus could not help but back up in front of the muscular hands of the colossus. Flynn aimed at the beast but paused when the creature howled, a bolt in its shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>The bandit and the warrior swiveled in surprise to find three armored men finishing shooting at the creature. Three bolts ended up in the mountain of muscles that screamed against them and prepared to switch targets. He was again interrupted by Flynn's energy projectiles attacking its face. None of these attacks seriously injured the monster. That was not the point. Between the shots, the hellknight spotted a slender figure. When it was at its feet, it was too late. An iron needle rose and went through its skull.</p><p> </p><p>The colossus collapsed. Cassandra removed her sword from the creature's head, before collapsing. Kneeling, her breathing heavy and her lungs on fire, the warrior lady wiped her soaked face with her already damp glove. Her companions joined her to help her up. At first reluctant, her legs like noodles pierced with a thousand needles made her change her mind. While she was leaning on Maximus, whose mane Pascal was sticking out, she saw a dozen royal soldiers dispersing in the square, sword in hand or crossbows loaded. Once they had taken control of the place with a perfect discipline, quite reassuring in the midst of this chaos, Cassandra heard a familiar voice. Her gaze focused on its origin and only her exhaustion prevented her from running towards it.</p><p> </p><p>“Father!” she screamed with joy while he was approaching. "Are you...?"</p><p> </p><p>“I'm alright, Cassandra,” answered the captain of the guards as he hugged his daughter. ”But look at you: you look…”</p><p> </p><p>"Terrible? You should see the others.”</p><p> </p><p>This attempted prank didn't relax the soldier, but it did at least reassure him deep down. He looked at his daughter from head to toe. All the blood on her clothes, the sweat that made her skin glow and the softness of her gestures were painful to him. The warrior lady wasted no time and asked him.</p><p> </p><p>“What about the city?”</p><p> </p><p>The captain sighed as his gaze fell on his edged men and the monstrous corpses.</p><p> </p><p>“It's like hell everywhere. We assembled every soldier on our way, but these creatures…” The captain, so rational and rigorous usually, had to take a second to know what to say. “The lucky civilians are locked in their house or in the castle, but whatever the district, we found only monsters and corpses.” Unpleasantly not surprised by this, Cassandra sighed. “We regrouped the guards and asked them to keep moving and fighting…”</p><p> </p><p>“So they don't get overwhelmed by large groups staying at the same place. Good strategy,” admitted Cassandra. “But what about the king and queen?”</p><p> </p><p>“That's why I am here,” declared a new deep voice behind the captain.</p><p> </p><p>The warrior then discovered a man of massive stature and a well-trimmed beard, sword in hand. Despite his very ordinary and red-stained shirt, Cassandra recognized her king. She tried to bow but pain interrupted her gesture.</p><p> </p><p>“Don't worry about formality,” informed the sovereign.</p><p> </p><p>“My lord, pronounced with difficulty the iron lady, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the castle?”</p><p> </p><p>“Theoretically, yes, but I don't abandon my people in such a crisis. And certainly not my wife.”</p><p> </p><p>At first intrigued, this statement aroused Cassandra's fear when she understood its implication.</p><p> </p><p>“She didn't get back to the castle?!” she screamed.</p><p> </p><p>“What? You have seen her?” quickly asked the captain.</p><p> </p><p>“It's a long story. She was with me but I asked a guard to bring her back while I was keeping a monster busy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Where was she the last time you saw here?” questioned the king.</p><p> </p><p>Before she could respond, a new voice timidly entered the conversation.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm… Not that I don't understand your worry, but we should move on, don't you think? There are very loud and disturbing sounds in the distance by the way and they seem to get closer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait a minute…” interrupted the captain. “I know you. You are Flynn Rider!”</p><p> </p><p>Too worried about this cataclysmic situation, Flynn had forgotten who he was talking to. His whole body tensed. At least he was sure he shouldn't move when the captain pointed his crossbow at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Your highness! This is the man who stole the crown.” explained the angry captain.</p><p> </p><p>The king gave the thief a look full of hatred. Rider wondered if he was going to execute him right here and now, but Cassandra stomped between him and his accusers.</p><p> </p><p>“Father. My lord. I know what this man did, and I have many things to explain to you, but now is not the time for this…”</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone!” screamed a soldier. “Creatures incoming!”</p><p> </p><p>As the soldiers p gathered to point their crossbow in the street their colleague pointed at, a tide of bloodthirsty creatures appeared. A Pinkie accompanied by Imps and Zombies rushed towards the guards who pulled their bolts in a newly acquired reflex. The projectiles planted themselves in the wave of flesh without being able to slow it down. The guards immediately let go of their crossbows and moved away, drawing their swords. The demon assault carried an unshaven young man from under the pinkie's feet and threw fireballs that killed two other soldiers. The survivors ran away to join their leader.</p><p> </p><p>The group settled around the king but the tension increased when they discovered red lightning around them which added to the arriving army an Arachnotron, two Whiplash and a Cacodemon. The creatures walked between the corpses of their fellows without the slightest consideration. When the royal group raised their blades, the monsters halted, with no trace of fear in their eyes, just the caution before an assault whose strategy required a little change. Flynn preemptively attempted to use the Assault Rifle again, without success.</p><p> </p><p>As the thief's frustration grew, Cassandra's exhaustion augmented, and fear engulfed the king himself, lightning echoed behind the enemy hordes. Most of the demons turned their gaze and moved away, revealing to the warriors of Corona a new demon. A huge humanoid, with an oval skull, huge fangs and a body covered with bone plates and spines., like an armor of monstruous lord. At this level of dread, curiosity barely showed on the faces of humans. The creature moved forward with awe-inspiring majesty, appalling self-assurance, and eyes filled with a new, almost conscious sadism. The archvile stopped in front of the inhabitants of this world, amid the demons Flynn and Cassandra had slain, then in a swift gesture raised his arms to the sky. Under the astonished eyes of humans, flames rose. To the demonic horde were added a hellknight, three zombies, two gargoyles, a prowler, a carcass, two cacodemons, an imp and a revenant. The Assault Rifle slipped from Flynn's paralyzed, sweaty hands.</p><p> </p><p>“This is a joke. Right?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>No one answered him. Each had a frozen gaze. Several dropped their swords. Cassandra fell to her knees. Fatigue weighed on her too much now. Only a thin hope of survival had kept her standing and this monster had charred it like an old piece of paper. The demons focused again on their prey. When an Imp plunged its savage gaze into that of an unarmed soldier, the frightened man leaped up and ran in the opposite direction. No one was paying attention to him. Too busy looking back, the fugitive did not see the mass towards which he was rushing. He didn't understand when an arm threw him against a wall, out of the way.</p><p> </p><p>The king, the thief, the iron lady, the guards and the other beasts didn't move when the demons began their assault when the pinkie screamed. All the monsters took a step towards their target, drooling, blood boiling, with sharp claws. The pinkie took a second step and its big head burst like a balloon. The pile of meat collapsed and slid across the pavement until its lower jaw brushed against the king's foot. The eyes of the fighters from Corona's last stand did not stay fixed for long on the pinkie's apparent brains. Their eyes swept over the stopped demons. Most were screaming, but what caught the humans' attention was the backward steps most of them took, before hearing a heavy sound that redirected the gaze behind them, their mind needing to discover the only thing they fear.</p><p> </p><p>The Doom Slayer cheekily pushed the king out of his way. His arm made his Rocket Launcher disappear into his Quantum Bag to grab his Combat Shotgun. The demons continued to cry out against the steel colossus. Their luminescent eyes and sharp claws reflected in the warrior's visor, but his only reaction was to snap the forestock of his weapon.</p><p> </p><p>“Move back!” warned Cassandra to her companions, who automatically obeyed while the demons restarted their assault.</p><p> </p><p>The Doom Slayer's shoulder cannon rose and throw a wave of flames at the demons in the front lines as he threw an explosive with his Shotgun that reduced several Imps and Zombies to a pulp. His cannon did not have time to heat up when he threw a grenade which landed among the small fry and destabilized the Prowler. The Slayer rushed towards it but found himself facing a blue barrier produced by a lightning. He swiveled in the direction the energy beam was coming from and focused on a Carcass, pulling it off with a punch that spun his greasy body, then a new one to throw it away.</p><p> </p><p>The Interdimensional warrior took his Assault Rifle and looked through his gun sight as he turned to the Prowler. The target was gone. He heard the cry of a Revenant and threw himself forward to dodge the missiles that narrowly missed him. The Slayer took the opportunity to look up and throw a grenade from his shoulder cannon into the mouth of a cacodemon. He fired a salvo to temporarily destabilize the hellknight that was rushing at him before focusing on the gargoyles that fell against the pavement. Each of them only had time to get up before the Slayer used his blade to impale the first in the heart and slice the other diagonally. Without stopping, the warrior leapt towards the stunned cacodemon who had swallowed his explosive to rip out his eye without the slightest difficulty for his inhuman muscles.</p><p> </p><p>The demon slayer saw a red glow from the corner of his eye. His blade shot out in a flash, and with a swift movement he deflected the hook of a Whiplash on which he launched his mini missiles. The sudden pain of these small explosions disturbed the demon before it was cut to pieces. The Slayer spotted the second before he launched his chain. When the monster threw his hook at him, the colossus caught it in mid-flight with a crushing grip, pulled on the metal cord so hard that the demonic serpent flew towards him. Despite the imbalance, the creature did not fall as the Slayer had grabbed its arm, knocking its elbow to make the bone leap out and impale its skull with it.</p><p> </p><p>The enraged knight had spotted his next target during his assault. He switched from the Rifle to the Super Shotgun and pivoted towards the Archvile. The latter quickly raised his arm and a wall of fire rose between the two enemies. The Slayer heard the whistles of the Arachnotron's plasma projectiles. He jumped away from their path and spotted the Revenant on whom he threw his Meat Hook. Clinging to the armored skeleton, the Slayer flew towards him and let his immense weight strike the monster and knock it to the ground. The Revenant's cry was not enough to stop the boot which shattered his head.</p><p> </p><p>The hellknight narrowly missed the Slayer before taking a salvo from the Super Shotgun in the face. When it recovered his senses, its opponent had already recharged. The next shot propelled the hellknight back. This time, the Slayer didn't give him a second. He slammed his massive fist into its face before his blade appeared and made his head fly. As its body collapsed, the Slayer retrieved his Combat Shotgun. He threw an explosive from his shoulder cannon into the jaws of the last cacodemon, then the grenade from his Combat Shotgun to the demonic spider's plasma cannon, smashing the weapon to pieces.</p><p> </p><p>The subtle noise behind the Slayer's back didn't get unnoticed. He dashed forward, dodging the prowler's claws, and whirled around to fire several shots at its face. The shots prevented the demon from positioning itself and seeing the blade that stuck in its heart, before splitting its shoulder in two. The Slayer took advantage of its last moments of life to lean on the demon's body and rise towards the cacodemon from which he in turn withdrew his eye like a cork of champagne. As he fell, the Slayer picked up his chainsaw and cut the face of the arachnotron, which died with a shrill cry.</p><p> </p><p>An orange reflection in his visor awakened a reflex from the Slayer which allowed him to leap up and avoid a column of flame flying towards him. The colossus rushed towards the archvile by modifying his Shotgun with Full Auto Mode. Another pillar of fire advanced towards the warrior but missed him as he directed his course towards him. The Slayer's weapon began to pivot and unleash an avalanche of fire on the demon whose bony plates shattered. Until the Slayer tripped him up, followed by a punch in the face and, finally, a kick that made its head explode like a watermelon. The Doom Slayer released the tension from his gigantic muscles. It only took a second for Dr. Hayden's electronic voice to confirm what he already knew.</p><p> </p><p>“I am no longer detecting demonic activity. I think you put an end to this invasion. Even if I admit I don't understand what caused it.”</p><p> </p><p>The Doom Slayer looked around. Red, sticky, rotting flesh, human and demonic, but no living targets. Neither here, nor elsewhere in this city. He made sure of that. The only people still alive were the group standing aside and staring at him with wide eyes. He had nothing else to do here. He walked towards the heart of the square where a portal was about to appear.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, wait!” called out a female voice cut off by an irregular breathing.</p><p> </p><p>The Slayer moved his chest in a mechanical movement until he found a young woman arched with obvious fatigue. Her short black hair and her combat clothes, despite the bloodstains that covered them, reminded him of something. He was intrigued by the chain that dangled like an amorphous snake from her wrist and ignored the soldiers behind her who seemed to want to stop her but didn't dare lift a finger. The survivor stood staring at him straight in the eye in complete silence. A form of curiosity and fascination tried to pierce the mystery of his imperturbable gaze like a barrier holding back a violence she feared to awaken. Cassandra still tried to say a word to him. She wanted answers.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for your help… but who are you?”</p><p> </p><p>The Slayer remained silent. Then he turned his back to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait wait wait!” called out a male voice this time.</p><p> </p><p>A young man who once again reminded him of something with his pointy face and goatee stood in front of him with an Assault Rifle in his hands. The weapon seemed to him completely misplaced on this primitive world and finished reminding the Slayer who was in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Listen,” declared Flynn.” It's great that you saved us from these things. I really appreciate it. However, Rapunzel has disappeared. Do you remember her? The blonde girl? Way too long hair? Talking all the time? Unable to stay quiet? Well, we could use help looking for her. And now the weapon you gave her stopped working. Come on, you certainly…”</p><p> </p><p>The Slayer's oversized hand grabbed the bandit's shoulder and knocked him out of his way. He ignored his victim's wail as he made his way to the portal of blue energy that was finishing forming in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait.” pronounced the electronic voice of Dr. Hayden, while the frustration of the Slayer increased. “This weapon. There is something unusual with it.”</p><p> </p><p>The Slayer turned to the young man whom the chain lady was helping to get up. The object in question was at their feet. He approached with a heavy step that made the two intimidated survivors step back. He picked up the Assault Rifle with one hand, which he stared as much out of personal curiosity as to allow the doctor to do his analysis.</p><p> </p><p>“I detect traces of a peculiar energy. Not unlike Argent but more… unstable. I suggest you bring it for a complete analysis.”</p><p> </p><p>The Slayer recognized this weapon. You do not fight the legions of hell without remembering what helped you facing it. By extension, he remembered the one he had given it to. She had disappeared according to the young man who did not stop talking. The most likely hypothesis was that she had been killed. He was not responsible for her. Her disappearance still provoked to the colossus a form of regret. A disappointment that would pass, as always. He didn't have time to think about it any longer. Rifle in hand, the Slayer set off again and crossed the blue disc that took him out of this world. Only the warriors of Corona remained, who did not dare to imagine themselves as victors. They were survivors left haggard in the middle of a mass grave.</p><p> </p><p>"Come on!" growled the thief. “Is it so difficult for him to say one single word?!”</p><p> </p><p>He felt a tender but heavy hand on his shoulder. Cassandra was giving him a sympathetic look that calmed him, because he also understood how getting angry wouldn't change anything. However, he tensed when he caught sight of the murderous eyes of the captain of the guard. When the Iron Lady found out what worried Rider, she faced the soldier.</p><p> </p><p>“Father, I don't think his capture is…”</p><p> </p><p>“Is what?” asked the frustrated captain. “A priority? Necessary? What else am I supposed to do?”</p><p> </p><p>Flynn, exhausted and desperate from this never-ending series of trouble, grabbed the pistol he had kept in his belt. Cassandra frowned, also frustrated because she didn't know where to start to calm her father. The trio froze, however, when the king in turn approached to study each of them with stoic curiosity. The captain took the initiative.</p><p> </p><p>“Your highness, this man is the filthy thief who stole the crown yesterday. Just say it and we arrest him. Right, Cassandra?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl exchanged a troubled look with Flynn. Once again, she didn't know what her homework was asking her. The bandit with whom she had faced these monsters, and who had saved her life, was exasperated by this situation.</p><p> </p><p>“Seriously?” he exploded with consternation. “The city is nothing but death and destruction and all you think about is capturing me?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don't want to add another failure to this awful day,” answered the captain.</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra hurriedly addressed him before Rider further escalated the situation. She knew her father was too stubborn to listen to her in this situation. She therefore had to rely on the strategy, actually efficient, that Rapunzel had found: use his hierarchy.</p><p> </p><p>“My lord, she said, looking at the king, I know what he has done, but he came voluntarily with his friend to help us and bring back the crown.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is it true?” asked the sovereign.</p><p> </p><p>“It's a broad summary, but not completely false.”</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra's steely gaze made him understand that he wasn't helping her. He tried to correct his mistake as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>“I mean it's Rapunzel who negotiated so… yes, it's true, but she disappeared.”</p><p> </p><p>“A bit convenient,” declared the king.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, but I swear…” Flynn didn't need to think for a long time to understand they had no reason to trust him. “Listen, Cassandra was there. She can explain everything to you, but we need to find Rapunzel. Who knows what happened to her.”</p><p> </p><p>“I'll tell you, said the angry captain, she's either dead or gone. And in both cases, you could use this search to run away.”</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra was starting to clench her fist with the little energy she had left. She knew that Flynn sincerely wanted to find the girl with the oversized hair, but she understood her father's distrust. Before she could add anything, a soft, tired but precious voice cut the conversation off.</p><p> </p><p>“Your friend, she asked, it's the blonde girl in a pink dress, right?”</p><p> </p><p>They all turned to find a lady of staggering dignity, her dress stained with blood and her brown hairstyle partially undone. Her fixed and half-bulging eyes did not hold back the relief of the king, who hastened to take his wife in his arms. The captain also sighed at this reassuring discovery. The queen remained fixed, like a statue, without taking her eyes off Flynn and Cassandra.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay, my dear?” asked the king.</p><p> </p><p>He received no response. Her silence aroused his concern, but the queen questioned the bandit once again before he could repeat himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Your friend, she's the girl with the large green eyes, the golden hair and sweet face. Isn't it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” reacted abruptly Flynn. “Did you see her?”</p><p> </p><p>“I did,” answered with a slow and weak voice. “There was something… familiar with her. I can't stop thinking about her since she saved me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh right!” remembered the thief. “We saw you near to that fountain.”</p><p> </p><p>“I needed to know,” continued the queen. “I followed you. I saw that women with a long coat.”</p><p> </p><p>"A woman?"</p><p> </p><p>“Yes. A tall woman with curly black hair and a sharp face. She took her frying pan and smashed her face to capture her.</p><p> </p><p>“What?!” reacted Cassandra. “Are you sure?”</p><p> </p><p>"I am. I tried to follow her too, but there were too many… too many…”</p><p> </p><p>The queen began to tremble. Her husband hugged her as Cassandra asked Flynn.</p><p> </p><p>“What does that mean?”</p><p> </p><p>The bandit seemed to be thinking intensely.</p><p> </p><p>“Curly black hair?” he whispered, before understanding. “Wait! That's Rapunzel's mother!”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure? But… Why would she do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don't know, but if it's her, that gives me only one idea of where they could be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Because you still believe we are going to let you go?” interrupted the captain.</p><p> </p><p>Flynn sighed in frustration, as did Cassandra.</p><p> </p><p>“Father, she is in danger and fought for our city. We need to help her.”</p><p> </p><p>“That's way too convenient for this criminal. I trust you, Cassandra, but not him.”</p><p> </p><p>An embarrassed silence fell over the group. None intended to let go. Until the apathetic Queen's voice was heard again.</p><p> </p><p>“Darling? Could you let them go?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” asked the surprised king.</p><p> </p><p>The queen raised her fixed eyes, over which passed a cloud of supplication, and spoke weakly.</p><p> </p><p>“This girl. I need to see her again. Please. I need to be sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of what?”</p><p> </p><p>The queen made no reply. The sovereign's concern was still growing. He couldn't bear to see his wife in this state. Yet she seemed to know what she wanted. The king turned to the warrior in the chain.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you go with him?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Cassandra understood immediately what he meant.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, your highness.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then go. Bring this girl here while we… clean up this mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“What if they find no one?” asked the captain.</p><p> </p><p>“Then she'll at least bring Rider back. Isn't it?”</p><p> </p><p>The warrior confirmed, despite Flynn's annoyance. Maximus took the lead, standing next to the duo. Pascal made a place on the horse's back and let the duo get on it. The warhorse then took them through streets engulfed in bloody corpses and grieving survivors. They felt sorry for those children who were mourning their parents or the other way around, but they had a tower to reach as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p></p><div>
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</div><p>Thank you for reading my fanfic</p><p>Don't hesitate to review and share</p><p>You can receive updates about my fics on my twitter. (@LordStarKnight)</p><p>See you next time!</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
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      <span class="u">The Tangled Dooms</span>
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      <span class="u">Chapter 21</span>
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</div><p><br/><br/>It could only be a nightmare. Rapunzel couldn't do anything except blink her eyes, stuck in a loop of hazy thoughts and emotions. Why was her mother like this? Was she afraid of the monsters? It was probably that. But why capturing her like she did? Was she afraid for her or for her golden hair? Was she only interested in her powers for all her years? No, she loved her more than anything in the world. So why was she talking about taking her away? She just had to talk to make her understand, isn't it? Why had she gagged and shackled her? Paralyzed by incomprehension, the young girl's chains remained silent. She remained slumped on the tiled floor of her tower, her hands cuffed behind her back, like a piece of luggage thrown by her mother in the dark. She paced back and forth before her blank gaze, moving from room to room with intimidating nervousness. Without even taking the time to turn on a light, Gothel had retrieved the largest bag she had and stuffed in each of the necessary items for their trip that came to her mind. Her movements testified of the chaos her mind had become. As soon as she grabbed a piece of bread, Gothel rushed towards the bedroom to retrieve a comb, before turning back to add a few potatoes.<br/><br/>Rapunzel thought she heard a sound beyond the fog of her thoughts that temporarily pulled her out of her mental merry-go-round. Dull shocks, slamming against the ground, then a neigh that stopped her mother. Rapunzel thought she heard a voice, then another. Echoes reached her, telling her name. She recognized Eugene's voice. Like a whip, his call awakened in the young girl an energy which made her answer. She was hoping for help, for answers. However, her gag blocked her words and her eyes widened as her mother rushed towards the bag. Panic oozed from Gothel's distraught gaze, but her gestures had become as precise and swift as a snake. The girl in pink, however, had only eyes for the blade that her mother had taken in hand.<br/><br/>Why did her mother have this blade in her hand? Did she mean to hurt Eugene? But it was her friend. She would never hurt her own daughter's friend, would she? Why was she taking her hair in both hands? Rapunzel saw her mother throwing her blonde locks out the window. She wouldn't do that if she didn't want to help him coming here. Isn't it? Rapunzel almost screamed as her hair tugged at her head under the weight of a climbing person. The young girl ignored the pain, touched by the joy of seeing her friend again. It was all a misunderstanding, she told herself. Her mother had just been afraid. She panicked at the sight of all these monsters. Eugene would talk to her and calm her down. Everything was going to end well. Why did her mother stay in the shadows, next to the window?<br/><br/>The second the pain subsided, Rapunzel looked up and they exploded in surprise as big as those of the person who had just entered her tower. The next second, her friend arched in an expression of intense pain when an iron sting plunged under her ribs. Panic and incomprehension regained their place in Rapunzel's heart, but also her mother's one. The slender body of the victim collapsed; her leather-gloved hands pressed against the wound. The blood seeped between her thin fingers and fell in large drops on the tiles. Pain twisted her face with dark eyes veiled by short ebony locks. All Cassandra managed to see was the amazement of the old woman she had met in town. A stupor she shared.<br/><br/>Rapunzel tried to scream once more, but her screams did not pass her gag. What a horrible accident she thought. If her mother had known that it was her friend who was coming, she would never have done this. It was obvious from her horrified expression. She wanted to protect her daughter and had panicked. Rapunzel was about to beg her mother to help Cassandra when an excruciating new force tore her skull. If Cassandra was there, she had a clear idea of who was following her. The blonde captive called her mother to warn her, but she seemed mesmerized by the moans and gasps of pain from the downcast warrior.<br/><br/>When the pain subsided to leave only the blaze under her golden hair, Rapunzel looked up in tears at the man who had guided her during her terrible and wonderful journey. He too became a marble statue in front of the atrocious spectacle offered to him by the tower. The girl in the pink dress tied with invincible chains held his attention until Gothel's wailing and terrified gaze distracted him. Rapunzel was yelling in a muffled voice to warn her mother that he was not dangerous. He was a good man. He was her friend.<br/><br/>“You…” Gothel whispered in a shrill breath. "It's your fault. You wanted to keep her away from me. You took my treasure like some big-hearted bandits. And now you come back to play the knight in shining armor to kill me. I won't let you take what's mine!"<br/><br/>Rapunzel could only guess at the abominable face her mother put on at the horror on Eugene's, as his words echoed deep into the young girl's mind. Did her mother know who this man was? Did she know he was there to help her? Her mother moved her head back and forth between the thief and the warrior. Rapunzel perceived for a brief moment a terrible anger twisting the body of the old lady whose fingers gripped the handle of her blade even tighter.<br/><br/>“You made me do this!” she yelled, leaping like a tiger at the bandit.<br/><br/>A strange struggle began between the old lady and her target. Her attack had surprised the bandit who was now pinned to the ground. Despite her frail muscles, Gothel managed to keep the young man to the ground. The bandit had grabbed his assailant's wrists, but the dread caused by her horrible expression and an unexpected force from a rage she had focused on him, made him lose ground. The blade covered in blood gradually approached Eugene's throat. Cassandra tried to help him, but her wound made her forces drain at the speed of her flowing blood and the pain was making her muscles quiver. Her face itself was too weak after this insane day to express the frustration that overwhelmed her, or even her incomprehension at Rapunzel's frozen look. She was no longer moving.<br/><br/>Her mother knew who Eugene was. She knew he had helped her getting out of the tower. She knew he wasn't bad and yet she was trying to kill him. Her mother had not panicked among the demons in the city. She had consciously chosen to take her away and let her friends fend for themselves. She didn't try to save her. Her words echoed in her mind with a new voice. She didn't try to save her. She was not protecting her daughter. She was protecting her treasure. All her memories darkened. All these afternoons singing while combing her hair were not some funny mother and daughter's time. All of her teasing about her age and her need for her daughter's vocals wasn't innocent humor.<br/><br/>The only thing that interested her was her hair. Her mother didn't love her. She had never liked her. It was her hair that she loved. It was to survive that she wanted. She had never wanted her happiness. Only keep her to herself, locked up forever and use the powers of that hair for her forever. And she was destroying everyone who had really loved her. She wanted to slit the throat of the one who had listened to her, understood her and supported her. A burst of lucidity broke the walls of Rapunzel's mind and let a bubbling blood flow through them, as if heated by the fire of hell.<br/><br/><br/></p><p></p><div>
  <p>xXx</p>
</div><p><br/><br/>The thief was drowned in a cascade of contradictory emotions which arrived too quickly. Rapunzel was there, but in chains. Her mother had stabbed Cassandra but looked sorry for a moment. And now thenold lady pinned him to the ground with an impossible force that he had trouble stopping. Gothel's blade was advancing towards his throat with slow but relentless precision. Flynn was trying as hard as he could to fend off that iron claw, but the sharp teeth and shimmering eyes of his assailant made him tremble to the depths of his soul. He couldn't muster his strength against this face like the string of a crossbow. The metal sting pricked Flynn's throat. A drop of blood slid down his throat and hit the stone with a sinister echo.<br/><br/>Gothel's fangs stopped squeaking. The bandit's frozen eyes were taken aback. The tension that froze their bodies was swallowed up in new pain. A crashing meteor had interrupted the fight with a force that made vibrate every bones of its victims as they slammed into a wall. The pain passed, breathed away by a misunderstanding that get to Cassandra too. Flynn and Gothel didn't even exchange a glance when they discovered a flood of gold flowing across the floor. Their puzzled eyes followed the current to the other end of the room. The golden threads disappeared into the shadows with the fluidity of a snake.<br/><br/>"You lied to me." growled a raspy voice out of the darkness.<br/><br/>This voice, the three fighters recognized it without understanding how. Never had they heard so much poison in the young girl's words. The clouds of innocence that sprang from her words, even in moments of despair, were gone, replaced by a new emotion. Rapunzel's friends had heard her happy, sad, angry, exhausted, scared, but what they heard, none could identify as they imagined it impossible for the young lady with a pink dress. Yet their beliefs were shaken and forced into acceptance when they discovered, emerging from the shadows under a pale ray of light, her contorted face and her eyes sharp. Despite her frail body and her arms tied behind her back, a new terror seized the assembly, exacerbated by the impossibility of this spectacle.<br/><br/>“You used me…” Rapunzel hissed between her teeth. “All those years.”<br/><br/>Gothel backed up against the wall as if hoping to disappear through. Flynn was frozen with dread. Cassandra couldn't move anymore, too weak and frightened. Everyone had their gaze at one point focused on the murderous expression of the young girl or her arms which stretched the chains behind her back. But it was her giant hair that captured their attention. The young girl's hairs were moving by themselves. At the edge of darkness, golden tentacles glided over the stone. And the moment everyone thought they could react; a new phenomenon stunned the trio.<br/><br/>“You never loved me.” Rapunzel growled as the roots of her hair became red. "You took my life from me."<br/><br/>The river of gold turned into a cascade of blood. Each magical thread of the young girl was gorged with a dark red color, as a lock fell in front of one of her eyes and others rose by themselves from the ground. Her nostrils throbbed as her breath followed the rushing rhythm of her heart. Her trembling arms stretched behind her back, they were making the iron of her chains and handcuffs rattle.<br/><br/>"And now you want to take the ones I love from me!"<br/><br/>Surrounded by a halo of locks as sharp as bloody halberds, a metallic rattle echoed through the universe. The metal shackles shattered under the sheer force of fury. Two clenched hands revealed their fingers like vulture's talons. Then the insane girl let out a shrill scream that pierced into the fabric of reality itself. The spectators of this Fall remained paralyzed as red lightning leaped from this scarlet ocean. Others were born out of darkness and exploded in turn to reveal new horrors. This tower, which had been a child's home, was now filled to the brim with Hell Knights, Cacodemons and Imps with restless teeth and acid yellow eyes. And in the midst of this pack stand a bloody princess with pupils of the same color, possessed by an uninhibited bestiality.</p>
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